


How To Live and How To Die

by princessofilium (escapeinthemelody)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon, Canonical Character Death, Death Eaters, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hogwarts, Hope, Marauders, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2014-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-04 20:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/escapeinthemelody/pseuds/princessofilium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To live life to the fullest, like you'll die the next day, is an accomplishment few manage to achieve, and to give your life for those you love - the ultimate sacrifice - is something that takes incredible courage. If something could be said for Lily Evans and James Potter, it was that they were very good at living, but they were also very good at dying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings and Ends

**A/N:** This is already posted on ff.net [here](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9804515/1/How-to-Live-and-How-to-Die), but I thought I might as well put it on AO3 too seen as I have an account looking a bit lonely over here. So here we go! I bring you my version of Lily and James Potter's tale, also known as How To Live and How To Die, also known as HTL.

* * *

** Prologue **

* * *

It was absolute bedlam. Steam clouded her vision as a small girl with fiery, red hair attempted to push her way through the crowd of odd looking children. Most wore ordinary clothing but in their hands were wooden sticks, and frogs and owls in cages sat on large, brown trunks. The adults wore multicolored robes that fell to the floor and the steam came from a large, red, steam train. _The Hogwarts Express._ The girl’s eyes widened at the sight in front of her. The people, the place, the whole experience was one she had to get used to. She had only experienced this type of people _en masse_ once before but now she would have it every day for the rest of her life. The girl was a witch.

Just ahead of her, she could see the black head of hair she’d been searching for. The witch continued to bustle through the crowd but just before she could reach her destination, another boy blocked her path. Looking at him, she could tell he was a similar age to her, though he was taller and his jet-black hair was messed in every which way. Dark rimmed glasses framed his hazel eyes that stared straight into her emerald green ones as he held out a hand.

“You seem a little distressed. Anything I can help with?” The boy smiled, a sort of lopsided smirk that said ‘I’m up to something’. It irritated her, but the witch could not put her finger on why.

“No, thank you. I’m just looking for a friend,” Lily Evans replied with a huff before she, frustrated, pushed past eleven-year-old James Potter. In that moment, he knew the redheaded girl was someone to keep an eye on.

* * *

**Chapter One  
Beginnings and Ends**

* * *

Lily Evans rushed, books in hand, out of the Potions classroom and back to the Gryffindor sixth year girls’ dormitory. She had been tutoring a fourth year after Slughorn had asked her to give him a hand with his Swelling Solution, but now it was nearly time for the end of year feast and she still had not packed. The Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade at eleven o’clock sharp the following morning and it was most unusual for Lily to be so disorganised.

The last week had been a stressful one; having had exams the week prior, most of the year groups had been getting their results and the teachers certainly had not held back on giving normal homework, as well as work to do over the summer. Admittedly, Lily had completed the majority of her summer work already, but that left her trunk unpacked and her clothes and books scattered around the dormitory she shared with four other girls.

When the redhead reached her dorm, she checked her watch, noting she had exactly one hour to pack, shower and put on a new set of robes. Drawing her wand from her pocket, Lily set about charming her books into the bottom of her trunk, praying to Merlin they would all fit. Her trunk already had undetectable extension and weightless charms on it and she was unsure how much more space her magical power would allow her. Once she could see everything was running smoothly, Lily grabbed her toiletries and jumped into one of the showers in the adjoining bathroom.

As the hot water poured over her skin, her mind wandered to life beyond Hogwarts. She only had one more year at the magical school, meaning one more year under the protection of Albus Dumbledore. The world beyond the castle boundaries was a dangerous one, particularly for a girl of her blood status and although she had tried to keep it from them as much as possible, Lily knew her parents had realised the current tumult in which the wizarding world lay. It would not be easy to hide the _Daily Prophet_ from them over the summer but she could not let them pull her out of Hogwarts. Nothing good could possibly come from that.

Lily had not realised how much time had passed until she heard commotion in the dorm and Marlene came barrelling into the bathroom calling her name.

“Lils, I thought you said you were going to pack your stuff before the feast. We have fifteen minutes before it starts.”

“What?!” Lily squealed, grabbing her towel and nearly slipping over as she rushed out of the shower. “Let me just get dressed, chuck me my robes.”

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty that was Marlene McKinnon had been one of Lily’s closest friends from her first year at Hogwarts. While the two girls were very different, both in appearance and personality, they got on extremely well and had always been the closest out of the five Gryffindor girls in their year. Their friendship, while it had always been there, grew and blossomed tenfold after the incident in fifth year - the one no one spoke about unless they wished to be hexed into the next century. Over time Marlene’s confidence began to bring Lily out of her shell and the redhead had never been more grateful to have friends who had her back, even if she had been distant in years before.

Lily dressed quickly and hurriedly charmed the clothes she knew she would not need again to fold themselves and be placed in her trunk.

“See, I’ve never really got the hang of household charms. I don’t understand how you can just flick your wrist and it comes so easily.” Marlene’s voice pierced Lily’s train of thought as she wondered if the clothes would be okay by themselves if she left them.

“I’ll teach you someday, Marls, but we should get moving, I don’t want to be late.”

The blonde nodded and followed her friend as Lily left the dorm at high speed, knowing that getting to the Great Hall would take five minutes at the very least if she walked at quickly. All she knew is that Dumbledore’s speech would be very important this year and there was no way she was going to miss it.

* * *

Tuned out from the voice enveloping the Great Hall, James Potter glanced down the Gryffindor table to where Lily sat. It was not that he was not interested in what the old wizard had to say, James had just heard it before - from his mother, his father, his father’s co-workers, everyone. He was tired of it, ‘there’s a war coming’, ‘danger everywhere’, ‘stick together’, ‘come together as a school’, ‘have each other’s backs’, blah, blah, blah. James understood. The message was through. He would fight for what was right, he would do what he could, but he did not need the reminder that his childhood was over every second of every day. As much as he felt the pull to fight, he also wanted to live his life while he still could.

James could tell Lily was concentrating very hard on what Dumbledore was saying because every so often her nose would twitch for just a millisecond. If you blinked, you’d miss it, but James never missed it. For years, he had taken an interest in the redheaded witch, and knew every trait and habit she had. He was completely in love and he knew it, but he also knew that it would never happen. James Potter was resigned to his fate – a life without Lily Evans. If he lived through the war, that is.

Not for the first time, Lily could feel two sets of eyes on her. It was not some kind of magical trick that made her aware when people were staring, just a prickling on the back of her neck. Coming straight out of the important speech, Lily snapped her head around to the Slytherin table. For a moment she glared into the black eyes of Severus Snape, daring him to try and keep staring, before pulling herself back to Dumbledore’s words. She felt the prickling on the back of her neck lift as Snape looked away. James was still watching her, that she knew, but she cared slightly less.

Potter was irritating, but ultimately harmless. In earlier years, he had made a public show of his affections for her, which was both humiliating and annoying, but now he just stayed silent. If it were not for the prickling at the back of her neck, she would not have even known he still held a torch for her. James had moved on, been with other girls, and caused mischief with his friends. But still he watched Lily - just as he had from the first moment they met, following her fiery hair through the masses on the crowded Platform 9 and ¾. 

* * *

As The Hogwarts Express rolled out of Hogsmeade station right on time, Snape slipped through the carriages to the one his trunk resided in. A first year had brought it aboard along with those belonging to his housemates who would also be waiting in the carriage. As he slunk down the train, he stopped in his tracks as he heard a familiar laugh. Severus bit his lip, knowing Lily Evans would never laugh for him again. He tried not to, but his head turned to the source of the sound and his eyes locked with hers. The laughter died in her throat and her face turned stony, an expression that was quickly mimicked by those in her company – some girls he did not know the names of and four boys he most certainly knew the names of.

They were crammed into the compartment like sardines. It seemed ridiculous to Snape as to why eight witches and wizards would force themselves into such close quarters that would lead to some sitting on others’ laps when there were plenty of carriages available. This could have, of course, stemmed from the jealousy of anyone being so close to each other, especially Lily Evans. 

“Sod off, Snivelly.” A voice permeated Severus’ train of thought before he could move on from the carriage or remove his eyes from Lily’s. He turned and stormed off without another word to the carriage where his housemates were waiting.

Once he had gone, Lily turned to the owner of the voice, “Thank you, Sirius,” she said in a small voice. The things this group of friends had done for her since fifth year was remarkable. A lot of the time she found the Marauders annoying and troublesome, but the guys were loyal and they had kind hearts. Occasionally, they could even be amusing. Lily, however, only really hung out with them as a big group of Gryffindors. Had the numbers been smaller, it would have become more awkward being in such close company with James Potter so she tended to avoid him when possible. He pushed her buttons and, most of the time, on purpose, but in large groups, it could be laughed off or ignored.

The group in the compartment was smaller than usual. All four of the Gryffindor sixth year boys were present, but the girls were missing a dorm mate. Deandra Wright, the most level-headed of the five girls who shared a dorm, was spending the train ride back to London with her long-term boyfriend, Edgar Bones. While the pair of them completed the regular group, the couple liked to spend their train journeys together. When Lily thought about it, she found it romantic, almost disgustingly so, even though they were not a disgustingly romantic couple. They were just perfect for each other in every way. It warmed her heart to think that people could still find, and keep, love in the present climate.

Dee and Edgar were not the only couple, though. Alice Fawcett sat beside Lily, practically buzzing in her seat as The Hogwarts Express took her closer and closer to Frank Longbottom. Frank had left Hogwarts the summer before and had spent the year on the Auror Training Program, a dream he and Alice shared. He had promised to be waiting at King’s Cross when the train pulled in and having communicated only by letter all year, the petite brunette could not wait to feel him wrap his arms around her

Sometimes thinking about her friends’ relationships brought a pang of jealousy to Lily’s heart. The idea of having someone there for you always, who loved you unconditionally, sounded nice but there was one huge downside – love made you vulnerable and Lily Evans did not do vulnerability, not anymore.

“Lily. _Lily_. **_LILY_**!” A shout and a hand waving in front of her face drew the girl from her inner thoughts. “Do you want us to deal you in?” The question came from the small, rat-faced, slightly pudgy boy sat opposite her with a pack of exploding snap cards in his hands. Peter Pettigrew was pretty useless when it came to just about everything, but he had a good heart and good intentions.

Out of the four sixth year Gryffindor boys who were self-dubbed, ‘The Marauders’, Lily was more accepting of the presence of some more than others. For example, she may actively seek out the company of Remus Lupin, a tall, sandy-haired, hard-working boy who tended to be the voice of reason behind the Marauders’ pranks and mischief. However, it would be a rare day if you found Lily Evans and Sirius Black purposefully hanging out. Sirius, while amusing and generally kind, had absolutely nothing in common with Lily. She enjoyed reading and studying, while he would rather shove his head in a vat of Malevolent Mixture for a week. He played quidditch and caused trouble, while she refused to go near a broomstick and was a stickler for rules. The pair got along, but they would not actively choose each other’s company.

Lily nodded to Peter who dealt her in and the compartment soon became wracked with screams, shouts, and explosions as the game got into full swing. Even James joined in, sat on the opposite side of the compartment from Lily and trying his best not to look at her as she laughed at the game. It was far easier to push her from his mind when she was not right in front of him.

* * *

Stepping off the bright-red steam train and onto the solid ground of London town again was always like a wake up call for Lily. It meant re-entering the muggle world, the  _real_  world. It meant having to deal with her family. Namely Petunia.

As the train began to show the tell-tale signs of approaching London (suburbia followed by masses of terraced-house-towns and high-rise buildings in the distance), Lily gave Marlene, Alice and Mary hugs and waved goodbyes to the Marauders and excused herself before heading down to a quieter end of the train.

The Christmas and summer holidays were the only times in the year the young witch got to spend with her parents, but they came with a cost - leaving her friends behind. While Rose and Andrew Evans would not have minded in the slightest to have Lily’s school friends around, she did not wish to burden her parents. Occasionally, Marley would make an appearance but too much reference to Lily’s magical abilities in front of Petunia sparked arguments that lasted for weeks and, in Lily’s opinion, her parents did not need any reminder of the strain magic had put on the family. Friends were a small sacrifice.

Therefore, as the Hogwarts Express approached London, Lily always said goodbye to her friends and went to sit alone and get used to being without them and being ‘normal’ again before she had to force her presence on her sister. Most would want to spend every second possible with their friends but Lily did not do goodbyes, so a simple hug and walking away was preferable to her that the big, platform-group-hugs-and-kisses-and-see-you-soon-promise-to-write fandango.

Getting off the train, Lily made sure her trunk, magically bottomless, weightless and the size of a pencil case, was still in the pocket of her jacket and pushed her way through the masses of parents and family welcoming home their children from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The redhead did not even bother looking around for her family; she knew they had not made the journey to central London – there was no point now that Lily could apparate home quicker than they could start up the ignition on their car.

In no time Lily had reached the designated apparition point and thought of home. _Destination, deliberation, determination_ , the witch thought, but just before she felt the familiar squeeze that meant she was in transit, her eyes locked again with the black pools of sorrow that belonged to Snape. Her determination and deliberation faltered and so did her destination as she ‘popped’ from King’s Cross and arrived at her new location. Instead of the property line of her family’s house in Cokeworth that marked the edge of the protective enchantments she had put on the area when she returned briefly for that purpose at Easter, Lily found herself in a play park.

The redhead sighed and sat on the grassy mound she had arrived at which overlooked the park. By locking eyes with her ex-best friend moments before apparating, her thoughts were diverted from the solid ground of home to memories of her childhood in this particular park of Cokeworth with the boy who grew into a man who betrayed her. A year ago, Lily promised herself she would put the incident behind her and, while her sixth year had been awkward trying to escape Severus, her housemates had stepped up to the mark and helped her immeasurably. A year on and she was still coping with the pain the betrayal had brought her, but Lily did not regret walking away from her friendship with Snape for a second.

With that conclusion, the witch stood up, brushed any dirt off of the back of her jeans, and started towards home which lay just a five minute walk from the park. This time Lily did not feel the eyes that watched her go from behind a tree that the pair once lay beneath on a summer day similar to that particular one. She did not see Severus Snape’s shoulders droop, defeated, as he turned and headed back to Spinner’s End.

* * *

 

From the compartment in which they had spent the whole of the train journey from Hogsmeade to King’s Cross-, James Potter and Sirius Black exited with fellow Marauders, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew in tow. The latter two would soon depart and go their separate ways to their families and homes, but James and Sirius were family. They may as well have been brothers.

Since summer of fifth year when Sirius ran away from his purity-mania family, the boys had lived under the same roof at Potter Manor, but their brotherhood stemmed from years before that. Their meeting on the Hogwarts Express back in first year had brought about an unbreakable bond, which grew and grew over the years, making them inseparable.

Remus and Peter followed soon after and the two became a four and that four became the Marauders. Learning Remus was a werewolf early on and making it their ambition to help him, the four became closer than ever, but everyone knew that the closest bond was between James and Sirius. Fifth year was a pivotal point for most of wizarding community as the year of O.W.L.s, but Lily was not the only person who had a life-altering encounter with Severus Snape that year.

Having learnt to become animagi to help old Moony with his monthly excursions, and wishing to teach Snivelly a lesson, Sirius had told him the trick to get past the Whomping Willow. James having to save his sworn enemy from almost certain death at the hands, or claws, of one of his best friends was not something he had seen coming in Divination.

The weeks that followed where James refused to speak to Sirius were the oddest in Hogwarts history. The two inextricable Marauders, the bonded brothers, were broken and … extricable. The months after the incident saw the gradual build up of the friendship once more, as not a lot could keep the pair apart for long, but the trust would take longer.

It seemed now, at the beginning of summer in 1977, James may be able to trust in his brother completely again. He hoped he could and these next few months would need to be used to insure that. Hard times were coming and neither boy would know where they would be without the complete trust of the other.

* * *

Lily pushed open the front door of her family’s semi-detached house, identical to that of every other house in the street, that lay in the outskirts of Cokeworth, a town not far from Camberley in Surrey. It was plain and boring but it was where she had grown up and where her parents were, so it was still home for her.

As soon as she had made it inside, a voice called for her as though she had never left, “Lily, dear, we’re just in the living room, you couldn’t bring the tray through, could you? It just on the side in the kitchen.” Smiling lightly at her mother’s version of ‘welcome home, darling it’s lovely to see you’, Lily did as she was asked before she headed through to see her parents and, no doubt her sister.

Entering the room, Rose Evans, a small woman with strawberry blonde hair, streaked with grey, stood from the chair in which she had been sitting. She kissed her daughter on the cheek before taking her seat again and the tray, loaded with a pot of tea, three cups and some biscuits, and placing it on the table placed between her and her eldest daughter. Lily sat on the opposite side of the sofa from where Petunia was sitting and took the cup of tea offered to her by her mother and sat quietly while the women continued their conversation.

It was not that Rose preferred her elder daughter at all; more that she had come to make a compromise. In the earlier months following Lily’s eleventh birthday, the Evans girls’ feud had put such a strain on their mother that she had been taken ill and diagnosed with both physical and mental fatigue, leaving her bed ridden for a month. Even in the years following, the arguments would leave Rose drained and stressed and she would take to her bed. Petunia was stubborn and would never back down from a fight but Lily could see what the sisters’ troubles were doing to their mother and so now a days she chose to ignore her elder sibling. Rose, like Lily, took a higher stance and chose not to get between the girls and avoided having them in close company whenever possible.

That left moments like this, when the girls were forced together and Lily went ignored even when she had just arrived home to see her family for the first time in six months. She understood why, and did not want to provoke the situation but that does not mean it did not hurt.

Finishing her cup of tea and gushing about her boyfriend (who she never stopped going on about), Petunia stood and kissed her mother, saying Vernon was waiting for her and not to wait up, she’d be back late. Normally, Rose would have invited Vernon for supper, but on Lily’s first night home, she thought it would not be prudent. Petunia completely ignored her younger sister’s existence and left the house, waved off by her mother.

“Nice to see you too, Tuney,” Lily muttered under her breath with a roll of her eyes, before Rose re-entered the room. As she came in, the woman took her daughter in her arms for a hug.

“I’m sorry about that, darling. Petunia came all the way from London for tea and a chat and I couldn’t just turn her away,” Rose apologised, giving Lily another kiss before letting her go and picking up the tray to take back to the kitchen. The young witch followed her muggle mother, helping to tidy up as soon as the tray was placed down again.

“Your father apologises for not being here. He finished for the summer yesterday and has a late staff meeting but promised he’d be home for supper. Would you like to help me cook? I’m making apple pie for dessert.” A smile spread across Lily’s face as her mother mentioned her favourite pudding. “I know how much you love it,” Rose added with a smile almost identical to her youngest daughter’s.

“Thanks, Mum,” the girl said simply, kissing Rose’s cheek as she passed to grab two aprons and throw one to her mother.

As the women cooked and baked, they caught up on all that had happened in the last few months, both in the muggle world and at Hogwarts. By the time Andrew Evans arrived home, the kitchen was spotless, the food was on the table and his girls were smiling.

* * *

The boys strolled out of King’s Cross and began walking down a muggle street. They had no sense of where they were going and they didn’t particularly care, they knew they would end up where they needed to be without even trying. Sure enough, not long after setting out, Sirius pushed open the door of the Leaky Cauldron. 

Tom welcomed the boys with bows and two glasses of firewhiskey on the house before they had even crossed from the entrance to the bar. Being the son of the Head of the Auror Office often came in handy, especially in places like the Leaky Cauldron, but that did not mean is was devoid of downsides.

James rarely saw his father, Thomas, who was so engrossed in his work that he barely had time for his son. The two weeks at the end of summer when he would take leave from work and refused to be disturbed when he took his wife, Andrea, James and two of his friends to their little cottage in the village of Godric’s Hollow, situated on the Somerset Levels, was the only father-son bonding time James had ever experienced.

Andrea Potter, James’ mother would be awaiting Sirius and James’ return back at Potter Manor, but tradition called for an end of year drink or five at the ‘Cauldron before heading back. The boys settled themselves in their regular booth in the corner of the pub and began to discuss summer plans.

“Mate, I’m only at home for the weekend and then I’m going to see Uncle A. He didn’t sound so good in his last letter and I want to check on him before we get knee deep in summer pranks and whatever else this glorious season will bring.” A smirk played across Sirius’ lips as memories of prior summers passed through his mind. Before adding, “That okay with you?” 

“I’m sure I can find something to do without you, Padfoot. Besides, I might actually be able to go to the beach without you scaring off all the birds within the first five minutes of being there!” James grinned, taking a swig of his drink and placing the empty goblet back on the table with a clunk.

Another round came and went before the topic of conversation fell on Godric’s Hollow. The previous summer had been the first year since they had met when James had opted to take both Peter and Remus as opposed to Sirius and choosing between the other two. The Marauder who could not stay on that particular year would always pop in frequently during the two weeks, but Sirius had more or less been out in the cold the year prior and, while his relationship with James was mended, it was not perfect.

Though it was not obvious in his face, there was concern in Sirius’ eyes that he would not be invited again this year. James took a sip of his third firewhiskey before bursting into laughter. “Pads, don’t look so worried! Of course you’re coming to the Hollow!”

Sirius relaxed and finished his own third round, a laugh escaping his own lips. “Alright, Prongs, alright. And that takes us right up to seventh year and whether or not you’re going to keep trying for little old Lils…” he added, quickly diverting the subject so as to not dwell on past mistakes.

Prongs sighed and closed his eyes, finishing his drink and relishing the burning feeling as it slid down his throat. “It’ll never happen, mate. She will never fall for me and I think I’ve come to accept that.” James paused and nodded to Tom who brought over another round. “Moving on,” he said as he raised his goblet in a ‘cheers’ and downed the liquid once more.

“I think its time to get home to Mum and Tippy, don’t you, Padfoot?” James smirked his trademark lopsided smirk as he stood. Most would have felt at least slightly woozy by the amount of alcohol the boys had consumed, but as Marauders – magical mischief makers extraordinaire – they had become hardened drinkers by their fifth year and a four shots of firewhiskey did little to them now a days.

“I agree, dear old Mumsie will certainly be missing us,” Sirius’ smirk matched James’ in almost every way as they headed out of the pub, stopping only for James to tell Tom to put the drinks on his father’s tab.

* * *

The moment Lily heard the tell tale click of the front door opening, she rushed from the kitchen, smile on her face, and jumped into Andrew Evans’ arms. Dropping his briefcase and essays galore, he received her with open arms and a matching smile. At seventeen year old, Lily was still very much a ‘Daddy’s Girl’ but she could not care less. Her and her father had a connection, bonded by words and stories as well as hearts and blood.

As a lecturer in English Literature at the nearby University of Surrey, his youngest daughter quickly picked up his interest in classical literature. It all began with a gorgeous fairy tale book given to her at her Christening, and it only went downhill from there. Lily would steal books from her father’s shelf in his study on a daily basis; _Little Women_ , _Oliver Twist_ , _Great Expectations_  and then, just before she left for Hogwarts, she stumbled upon _Jane Eyre_  and fell in love.

For two whole days, eleven-year-old Lily Evans did nothing but read the novel, cover-to-cover, stopping only to eat and sleep when her father told her that, as proud as he was of her love to read, she was being foolish. 

Six years on and Lily still had her father’s old and now very battered copy of _Jane Eyre_. Many a time her friends have suggested magically fixing the novel or even buying a new one but she just could not bring herself to do it. It was the novel that helped her get through a childhood without her sister’s friendship and her first year at Hogwarts. It was the novel she went to on autumn days under a tree, winter days by the fire, times when she needed comforting or times when she just wished to read. It was the novel that made her fall in love with love.

After the incident of fifth year, Lily even tried to put the book away and leave it behind her. The idea that love was vulnerability caused a detachment from the book in her head, but it did not last long. She could not live without it. Her stolen moments with Jane and Rochester were the only time she let her heart open to love. 

Kissing her on the cheek and taking her hand, Andrew took Lily back into the kitchen to see his wife, leaving his briefcase and essays on the floor of the hallway – he could pick them up later, he just wanted to be with his family. The three Evans’ sat down at the kitchen table to the meal that the girls had made – toad in the hole with mash and beans.

“This looks wonderful, my dear,” Andrew smiled, happy to be home as he dug in to his sausages. Andrew Evans, though often out of the home for long hours, loved his family dearly. He and Rose had met in University and never looked back since, still deeply in love nearly twenty-five years on.

He loved both his daughters immensely and equally, even though he had more in common with Lily. Petunia had been a more difficult child but it was far easier when the girls were friends, as soon as they split, everything became hard. Andrew resolved to stay out of it, unlike his wife who constantly wished them to sort things out and became ill with stress. He trusted Lily to take the higher ground and she did. His youngest daughter, the apple of his eye, would always do the right thing. But that did not mean her loved her more. 

Happily, the Evans’ finished their meal and played their traditional first-evening-back-from-Hogwarts game of Scrabble, in which Andrew just beat his daughter by a handful of points. Lily thrived off of the friendly competition and that night, she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, happy to be back with her parents and blissfully unaware of how quickly things were going to change, and not for the better.

* * *

Apparating to a spot outside the strong protective enchantments surrounding Potter Manor, James and Sirius strolled straight through the heavy, magical barriers with ease and headed up the long pathway to the entrance of the stately manor.

Ancient magic protected the household that had been owned by Potters since it was built back in the 14th Century. A leather bound tome sat on the mantelpiece above the fireplace in the drawing room that contained names of every direct member of the Potter family living in the house. It had been a pain trying to get the house to accept Sirius, but after hours of Thomas puzzling through ancient blood lore and protections, he managed to find a loophole that allowed the Potters to add Sirius’ name to the tome.

Before the boys could get two feet through the door, a creature ambushed them, head barely reaching James’ knees, with eyes like tennis balls and bat-wing ears. It wore a pristine, white pillowcase, embroidered with a purple ‘P’, but nothing else. The creature squealed and bowed so low that its long, pointed nose almost touched the tiled floor of the entrance hall. To someone not accustomed to it, it would have been a very odd sight.

“Master James, Master Sirius, so good it is to see you. Tippy is been missing you. Tippy is taking your trunks and coats and things and Tippy is leaving you desserts in the kitchen,” the pillowcase-clad house elf squeaked with wide eyes, before going to take James and Sirius’ things. Then, she reconsidered and put her tiny hands on her non-existent hips, scowling as best she could, “Mistress Andrea is being waiting for you, Mistress Andrea is being worried - where is you been? You shoulds not be worrying Mistress like that.” The tiny elf chastised the boys with a pointed finger, bustling them through into the library where Andrea Potter was residing with a cup of tea and piece of cake, before she took the boys’ belongings and left the room bowing to her mistress.

“Thank you, Tippy,” Andrea Potter called after the elf who was in charge of managing Potter Manor. The woman sat in an armchair in the centre of the library with shoulder length curls of hair pinned away from falling in her face, jet-black to match her son’s but streaked with grey, and soft eyes that shone with a smile as she greeted her two sons back from school.

She stood, putting an arm around each of the boys and placing a kiss on their cheeks. An eyebrow rose as Andrea caught the scent of firewhiskey on their breaths – the witch was well aware of James and Sirius’ tradition but preferred to pretend she was blissfully unaware. She was wise in her old age, far older than she looked for sure, and had remained at home since James was born.

Andrea and Thomas had been so busy with their careers that they did not even think about having a family until they were moving into their twilight years. It was only in her late forties that the conversation came up about starting a family and a few years later, she fell pregnant with her one and only biological son, James. Sixteen years later, Andrea was more than happy to acquire a second when she took in her son’s best friend, Sirius Black.

While there were perks of being an older parent – happily retiring without feeling unaccomplished and being able to spoil their only son endlessly – there were also drawbacks, such as the Potters not having any friends with children James’ age. Having spent most of his childhood playing with a young house elf, it was a blessing when James went to Hogwarts and met Sirius.

The years, however, had been kind to the elder witch and, with both James and Thomas always out of the house, she had taken to spending her days in the library painting. One of the smaller bedrooms of the Manor was filled with canvas after canvas that had no home but being stacked in an unused corner of the house.

An easel, paint palette and colourfully splattered apron were placed off to the side of where Andrea had been sat with her tea and cake, somehow looking immaculate although it was clear she had been painting.

“Go get yourselves some dessert, boys. Tippy made you some treacle tart,” the witch smiled at James, knowing how much he adored that particular treat. When he was growing up, Tippy was a young elf and her mother was the head of the household. She was the one entrusted with helping Mrs Potter to bring up James and his only friend really, so he and the elf shared a bond. Tippy certainly saw herself as a motherly figure to him; she also frequently made him treacle tarts because she knew he loved them.

Collecting their treats, James and Sirius headed to their den – a room that was James’ playroom before his Hogwarts years but quickly became the Marauders’ space from then on. It was filled with broomsticks, fireworks, multiple copies of every item that could be bought in Zonko’s Joke Shop, and a cabinet of alcohol. It was the perfect headquarters for the four Gryffindors.

The boys ate desserts, talked, planned, plotted and generally hung out in the den for hours and fell asleep on beanbags, not even hearing Thomas Potter return from the Ministry in the early hours of the morning.

* * *

 

**A/N: Thank you once again to everyone who helped me bring the first chapter of my story to life - no I do not own anything related to the HP world and I do not intend any form of copyrwright infringement by this. If I have time, I'll get the next few chapters up here asap, but if you can't wait I'm up to chapter nine on FFN.**

**xoxo Andromache**


	2. Strange Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Insert usual disclaimer.

Lily awoke, having been at home for a few days now, to a sharp rapping of bony knuckles on her bedroom door. She attempted ignore the noise and roll over, even debated putting a soundproofing charm on her bedroom, but before she could act, the sharp voice of Petunia Evans was right beside her ear.

“Wake up, I need to talk to you,” the elder girl said matter-of-factly. It was almost incredible to Lily how little emotion her sister could put into her voice, she wondered if she had spent hours perfecting the art of doing so. The thought made her chuckle and gave away that she was not, in fact, asleep.

Rolling over and sitting up, Lily pulled down her Weird Sisters t-shirt and attempted to take her unruly mass of red hair. She glared at her sister who, at nine o’clock in the morning, had her perfect blonde hair precisely primped and wore a smart navy blue skirt suit and matching heels.

Sighing, Lily resigned herself to the fact that her sister was clearly not going to leave. “What is it, Petunia?”

The blonde glanced around the, already messy, bedroom and picked up a chair, tipped the clothes off of it and, placing it beside her sister’s bed, sat down. “We need to talk about summer. Now, I know you like being at home because of Mum and Dad and you never seeing them but this year, we really can’t be dealing with that,” Petunia stated.

Lily opened he mouth to reply, but before she could get a word in, her sister continued. “My relationship with Vernon is getting very serious and I’d hate to jinx things,” a slight smile passed over Petunia’s tight lips, almost unable to contain her excitement, even to Lily, “but I think he might propose soon… and I don’t want anything, or _anyone_ ,” she looked very pointedly at Lily, her demeanour going straight back to her strict and unsmiling one, “ruining my chances. So, you are going to go and see your _freaky_ _friends_ and spend as much time as possible away from Cokeworth. You can take that filthy animal with you too,” she finished, acknowledging Athena who was perched on the top of Lily’s wardrobe, glaring at the intruder. “Is that clear?”

It was perfectly clear that Petunia was not requesting anything; she was ordering Lily to stay as far away from home as often as possible.

Coldly, the blonde sister stood, “Vernon has taken time off work to come for lunch this afternoon so I expect you gone within the next,” she checked the watch on her wrist, “three hours.” Petunia walked towards the door but turned back as she reached it with a sickly sweet smile, saying, “And if any of those _weirdos_ come anywhere near this house, you will wish you were never born.”

With that final, loving sentiment, Petunia left the room and slammed the door behind her, leaving Lily speechless with three hours to get up and find something to do with herself.

She flopped back down on her bed and groaned, wishing shamefully, and not for the first time, that she was an only child.  Rubbing her eyes, Lily rolled herself out of bed, opened her window so that her owl could stretch her wings and picked up her towel heading for a shower to think over how she was going to spend her day.

* * *

By the time she was fully dressed, Lily had been through the pros and cons of owling her friends numerous times, over and over again in her head. It would be nice to see them outside of school, something she had never done apart from bumping into them in Diagon Alley or the Leaky Cauldron. Lily’s problem was that they probably already had plans, not expecting her to be available, and she did not want them to feel like they had to hang out with her.

In all honesty, that was a problem Lily had with everything. She always felt like a burden – she certainly was to her family, even if they did not admit it – and it was a complex that infested her every action. 

So, instead of owling Marlene or Mary or Alice or Dee, Lily opted to head out alone. Maybe she would go to a library and read for a bit or something. She would find something, she was sure. It would probably be a good idea to find some other stuff to do during the summer. The girls would be around at some point…

Lily resolved to owl Marlene, who, out of all her dorm mates, knew the most about her family situation, AKA Petunia. Using the time she had before having to vacate the house, Lily took out her parchment, quill and ink and began to write to her closest friend. 

> _27 th June 1977_
> 
> _Hey Marls,_
> 
> _I hope you’re enjoying your summer so far and you’re not causing too much trouble – I know what you’re like! What’ve you been up to? Tell all and don’t spare the details._
> 
> _My sister is being less than civil, as per usual, and we’ve hit a pretty big hiccup quite early on. So instead of not being able to hang out with anyone over the holidays, I have to get out of the house as much as possible. I was rudely awoken early this morning and the ground rules were set so there we go._
> 
> _I know you have some plans with your family and with the girls but if you’re ever free, it’d be nice to hang out._
> 
> _Speak soon,_
> 
> _Lily x_

Folding up the letter, she placed it on her desk ready to send it once her owl returned. Athena was a large, white, barn owl, flecked with browns and greys, which was given to Lily as a gift for her twelfth birthday from her parents. Petunia loathed the bird from the first moment she entered the house, but Lily adored her. The name came to her quickly, having recently become fond of the ancient myths and gods (she even started taking Ancient Studies as an extra curricular subject), and it seemed only natural to name her owl after the goddess whose symbol was an owl.

Checking the time, Lily decided she may as well leave or else she would drift back to sleep and get into even more trouble with her sister.

* * *

James Potter rolled out of bed and into the shower at the obscenely late time of one o’clock. Sirius had left the night before to stay with his uncle, Alphard, and so James was left at home to find his own trouble. Remus and Peter had been over the day before and the four boys had spent the day generally causing mischief around Potter Manor and the ground, annoying almost everyone who lived and worked there. But now the Marauders had gone back to the respective homes and their ringleader was alone again.

After dressing and settling at the dining room table with pancakes from Tippy and the _Daily Prophet_ , James began to ponder what to do. He could always start his holiday work, but that was exceedingly unlikely, or go for a nice long fly or sit and do nothing all day or even go to the beach as he had joked he would do. Just before he could decide, his mother entered the room with a cup of pumpkin juice for him and some tea for herself.

“I’m heading out today, I have some errands to run in Diagon Alley,” Andrea said, taking a seat opposite her son and a sip of her tea. “Do I _want_ to know what your plans are for the day?” A hint of a smile sparkled through Mrs Potter’s eyes, perfectly aware of the things her son could end up doing when left to his own devices.

James shrugged and munched on his mouthful of pancakes; washing them down with a gulp of pumpkin juice before replying, “Don’t have any.”

“Come with me to Diagon Alley,” Mrs Potter said quickly, jumping on a rare opportunity to spend some time with her son. “I need someone to carry the bags,” she added with a smile, “and we could get you some new robes for school, you’re growing out of your others. We could make a day of it – lunch out and who knows what I’ll buy for you…” 

If there was a way to get James to come with her, it was bribery. He had plenty of his own money, the Potter’s certainly were not short of it, but being treated by you mother is always nicer. Plus, he had nothing better to do.

“Sure, whatever,” James mumbled, finishing off his pancakes and all but licking the plate clean. “Let’s go then,” he said, standing and heading towards the fireplace, summoning a jumper as he walked. Andrea did the same and together they stepped into the green flames and said, clearly, “Diagon Alley.”

* * *

Lily’s first stop on her quest to find things to do was the Cokeworth Library, a place she used to frequent as a child, however it held little amusement for her now. Unable to concentrate with annoyance and anger at her sister building, the witch found there was little for her in a place full of silence. It was just too loud.

Exiting the large building, Lily realised exactly what she needed. She had not even thought of it up until that point but when it was right in front of her, it seemed obvious. Walking straight across the road and through the doors of _‘The King’s Head’,_ the young witch headed straight to the bar.

“Whiskey, please,” Lily asked the bartender. It was the only strong alcoholic drink she could think of, mainly because it also existed in the wizarding world.

“Really? And how old are you, lovely?” The man asked her, seemingly worried that a young girl should be drinking such heavy stuff at midday.

“Old enough,” was her simple reply as he poured the drink and took her money.

Lily was well aware that the official drinking age in a pub was eighteen, but she also knew that few people actually cared. Still, to be on the safe side, maybe she should go to the Leaky Cauldron where she was old enough to drink.

The girl took a sip of the golden liquid and made a face as it burned down her throat. She shook her head and prepared herself, resolved to head to the great wizarding pub which held the entrance to Diagon Alley, and downed the remainder of the whiskey. The bartender glanced at Lily, slightly impressed, and nodded as she said goodbye and moved away from the bar.

Only a few times in Lily’s life had she actually drunk alcohol. A few times at New Year when she had had some sips of champagne and once during one of the Marauders’ stupid parties when it was practically forced down her throat. This left Lily as quite a lightweight and with a complete lack of knowledge as to how she would react to copious amounts of the stuff.

For someone who rarely let her hair down, that sounded exciting.

Before she could second-guess herself, Lily apparated straight to the Leaky Cauldron and ordered herself a double of firewhiskey.

* * *

Flooing into a busy Leaky Cauldron, James and Andrea Potter wiped the soot off of their robes before stepping onto the flagstone floors of the old pub. Mrs Potter, clearly on a mission, headed straight for the exit towards Diagon Alley, nodding briefly to Tom, who bowed and offered her a drink. James followed behind but stopped in his tracks as a voice he recognised ordered a double of the hard stuff.

Lily.

Was it Lily? Why would Lily be ordering a firewhiskey, a double at that, in the Leaky Cauldron of all places? And when it was barely noon! That was Sirius behaviour, not Lily behaviour. Plus, she always spent her holidays with her family. It can’t be Lily. But that was a voice he would recognise anywhere.

“Mum, I have to do something. I’ll see you at home, I’m sorry,” James called after his mother who was already almost out the door. She sighed and called an affirmation just as her son turned back to where he thought the voice had come from.

The figure at the bar turned, showing the face and a mass of fiery red that was clearly Lily Evans. Staying a few paces away, James watched her head over towards a booth in a darkened corner of the pub, clearly hoping not to be recognised. He followed but watched from afar, trying to gauge her state. Something was clearly bothering her – her furrowed brow and intense concentration on the glass in front of her told him that, plus it was not her first drink of the day.

Scooting in the booth opposite her, Lily nearly jumped out of her skin, shocked to have someone invading her thoughts with their presence. “Evans?” Tentatively, he spoke to the girl in front of him, “Rough morning?”

Ensuring she had not spilled any of her precious alcohol, Lily pursed her lips and glared at James. “You could say that,” the redhead replied as calmly as her voice would allow before sipping at her drink.

The sudden presence of James Potter, knocked Lily off kilter, giving her a slight head rush, although she covered it well. Now she thought about it, it was probably worth getting something to eat seen as she had skipped out on breakfast. The drink would go to her head far too quickly on an empty stomach.

Lily was just about to snap at him, asking why he was bothering her, but instead decided to bite her tongue. She and James had never really been on good terms – they were acquaintances that shared friends and argued more often than most. After all, he was an arrogant toe rag. But right now, Lily did not have so many friends and so maybe she could not be so harsh just this once.

James sighed and motioned for a waitress to come over, clearly this was going to take some time and he did not want to leave Lily alone. Things could only go downhill if someone did not step in and it seemed James was the only one willing. Being Lily Evans’ therapist was the last thing he wanted to do but at this point his options were limited.

The waitress arrived and James ordered a single for himself and told her to put everything Lily had ordered on his family’s tab. The witch opposite him tried to protest, but he quietened her and decided she probably needed food too so ordered some chips.

Once the waitress had gone, Lily leaned over the table and said in an angry whisper, “Potter, I do not need you looking after me, nor do I need you buying me things. I am perfectly -” she hiccupped, “- fine, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say,” he replied with disbelief. “Care to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“Not particularly.”

Lily looked away from him and traced circles around the rim of her goblet. She did not want to talk about her family problems and most definitely not to James Potter. Marlene was the only person who even had inkling about her familial issues and she did not even know the half of it. Just thinking about them made her want to drink more, so she downed the goblet in front of her and when the waitress returned with her companion’s, she ordered another. This time, however, with soda water – she had not planned nor wanted to be drunk in the present company.

The silence between them quickly became as stifling as it had in the library back in Cokeworth and James made no move to release the tension so Lily spoke up.

“So… Potter… what brings you to the Leaky Cauldron?” Awkwardly, she chewed at the inside of her cheek and drummed her nails on the table.

James grinned, that stupid, lopsided, trademark grin-slash-smirk, which only irked Lily even more, as he clearly enjoyed that fact he had outlasted her in silence.

“My mother had errands so I came with,” he shrugged, “there was nothing better to do.” James took a sip of his own drink, not planning on becoming in any means tipsy, knowing he could handle the alcohol far better than his companion. It was half-impressive and half-disconcerting just how well she was doing. James had barely seen the witch touch alcohol; unless you counted Butterbeer (which had such a small percentage of alcohol it was ridiculous) or the time she had a sip of firewhiskey at a party in Gryffindor. “Now that I’ve shared my ever so interesting story, care to share what made you stumble into the nearest wizarding bar at such an early hour on a Monday, shall I add?”

Lily glared, yet again. It was amazing her eyes did not ache from the amount of force she put into the glare. “And how, Potter, do you know that this isn’t my usual holiday behaviour?” 

“Because I’m pretty sure muggles don’t become adults until eighteen. I did take Muggle Studies in third year, Evans, I’m not stupid.”

Lily almost spat out her drink, remembering how James would use the things he had learnt in that class to attempt to woo her. It was both the most hilarious and embarrassing thing at the same time. Merlin, when he learnt about Shakespeare, he refused to stop reciting sonnets at her every time they passed in the corridor. It had almost make Lily hate summer days, the number of times he tried to compare her to one.

“Fine,” James said, before she could even think up a reply, “don’t tell me. I’ll guess.” He smirked again and Lily began to dread the next thing that came from his mouth. “You just found out your long-term boyfriend was actually an acromantula in disguise.”

“I think I would have noticed that before now, don’t you?”

“So you do have a boyfriend?”

“I neither deny nor confirm,” she retorted simply, struggling to hide a hint of a smile from her eyes.

“Okay then, you accidentally hexed both of your parents’ ears off?”

Lily nearly choked on her drink, yet again, as she shook her head.

Taking a moment, James put on a serious face like he was thinking really hard before bursting into a long story, “I got it this time. You got home from Hogwarts to find your family missing and since then you have been on a quest to find them and bring them home. You’ve past the swamps of hinkypunks, slayed chimeras and dragons, solved many a sphinx’s riddle, battled with fire crabs and after going to the ends of the earth and failing to find your family, you decided to come and get outrageously sloshed to mask the pain. 

What intended to be a joke fell rather flat with both parties, and they both downed their drinks almost simultaneously. “It can’t be as bad as that, Evans. What’s going on with you?”

James had always been in incredible awe of how Lily handled difficult situations, so seeing her resort to alcohol was concerning. After Snape had called her a name-which-will-not-be-repeated in fifth year, she had held her head high even though everyone knew she must have been broken up about it. Never once did Lily even entertain the idea of drinking away the pain.

Beginning to feel woozier and woozier with every drink, Lily’s lips were loosening. The laughter had helped too, softened her anger even if just a bit. “My sister is a bitch,” she chuckled to herself, amazed that such a simple sentence could pretty much sum up everything. “And it’s all my fault.”

Lily paused, knowing it was true but having never said it aloud. “If I wasn’t a witch, my sister and I would still be close, my mother would have never been ill, my family wouldn’t be falling apart and I would not be sitting alone in a freaking _pub_ because I was kicked out of the house for being a… a _freak_.”

“One, Evans, you’re not sat alone,” James replied, gesturing to himself with a grin, “and two, if being able to go anywhere in the world with a mere _‘pop’_ , charming objects to do your bidding and transfiguring a pelican into a water goblet makes you a freak, then you should embrace the term and be proud! You are one of themost bright and talented witches in our year; if you can’t see that and if your family aren’t proud of that, then that’s they’re own damn loss. Clearly the only way your sister can compete with your brilliance is to bully you and I’m pretty sure that makes her the freak, not you.”

This caught Lily’s attention, and she stopped drinking for a second, placing her goblet back on the table. She knew James paid attention to her, too much to be honest, but the idea that he had such a high opinion of her made her feel quite shameful that she had such a low one of him. He was arrogant, a prankster, a joker, a bully himself, even! She had told him so on numerous occasions, and yet he thought she was brilliant. He was the one here trying to make her feel better and Lily just felt ashamed.

She had already said too much about her family, more than she had told anyone, and to James Potter no less. All he had been, since he sat down opposite her, was kind but the vulnerability Lily was feeling as she spilled her deepest feelings about her family was not a something she ever wished to feel and certainly not in a pub to someone who was not even her friend.

"I have to go. Thanks for the drinks," the witch said quickly, not daring to look at her companion as she stood and started to leave. However, the food had not arrived and the girl had had a decent amount of firewhiskey, so quickly began to topple.

“Lily, no, wait,” James stood and caught her before she could do any damage to herself.

“Wh-what did you just call me?” A shocked Lily Evans stuttered as the wizard set her straight.

“Evans, you just nearly hurt yourself because you’ve had too much to drink and you’re focussing on that fact that I used your given name? Really?” James sighed and shook his head. “Look, let me at least get you home safe; you aren’t steady. 

The witch could not protest as he put an arm around her and headed toward the door. At that precise moment, the waitress arrived with the chips, which James took from her with a smile and shoved them in Lily’s hand. “Eat,” was all he said as the pair left the Leaky Cauldron and headed out onto a street in muggle London.

* * *

After a long period of silence when Lily refused to talk to James and merely ate her chips, the wizard eventually managed to coax where she lived out of her and took her home via side-along apparition.

Entering the place that Lily Evans called home was a very surreal experience for James, especially with a slightly drunk and recovering Lily on his arm. He could hear voices in one of the rooms down the hall and started to head there but the witch shook her head and whispered frantically, “no, no, no, upstairs,” as she attempted to divert him.

Sadly, the damage had already been done and, as Lily stumbled up the stairs supported by James, Petunia excused herself from the table and went into the hallway to see what the banging and whispering was about.

Storming up the stairs, she grabbed her younger sister’s wrist, threw a “who the hell are you?” at James and dragged Lily into her bedroom with her companion following closely behind.

“Was my message not clear enough for you this morning? I said stay away from the house and you waltz back in, having been drinking by the smell of it,” Petunia took a breath and made a face, “and just to top it all off, you brought one of your _freaky friends_ with you which I _explicitly_ told you not – to – do.”

James’ face was a picture. He realised at once why Lily had been drinking so much because if he had a sibling like the woman stood in front of him, he would never be sober.

“I take it you’re the sister. James Potter,” he said, moving to hold out a hand to her, but changing his mind and putting it back into the pocket of his trousers, “I’d like to say it’s a pleasure but it most certainly isn’t.”

Petunia was taken aback and let her sister go, who dropped to sit on the floor quietly.

“Now, I was merely bringing your sister home safe so she didn’t get hurt and if you’re looking for someone to blame for the state she’s in, I’d consider checking the mirror, love, because you certainly have no idea how to be a good sister. Why don’t you try learning how to do that before asking favours, or even ordering around, someone who _does_ have the capabilities of being a good sibling if you let her?”

James went to the door of Lily’s bedroom, a room that, in alternative circumstances, he would have thoroughly enjoyed being in, but turned before opening the door, “I’ll be leaving now and you might want to get back to whatever precious occasion your sister just _‘ruined’_.”

With that, the wizard waltzed straight out of the house and was gone, leaving both Evans sisters open mouthed and stunned.

And that was how it began.

* * *

Sighing, James walked through the front door of Potter Manor. It had been quite a day, he had to admit, even though it was only late afternoon. He was shocked at just how terrible Lily’s sister was to her and resolved to be less hard on the witch in the future, feeling slightly ashamed of how much he had enjoyed antagonising her in the past.

If James had not been so wrapped up in his thoughts about Lily, he would have noticed that something was wrong as soon as he walked in the door without Tippy to greet him. As it was, he only realised when he entered the living room to find Sirius, his mother and someone he did not recognise wearing Healer robes all looking at him.

Confused, and apprehensive, James spoke up, “What’s happened?”

The look on Sirius’ face and the fact that he was even present told James all he needed to know, but he wanted to hear it out loud. He did not what to believe that any more horrors could befall his best friend’s life.

“Uncle Alphard’s dead.”


	3. Woe, Wills and Walburga Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: HP and the stories, characters, magical world etc. are not mine.

“Uncle Alphard is dead.”

James stopped and ran a hand through his already thoroughly messy hair. “Mate, I’m sorry,” he said as he headed towards his best friend, “I know what he meant to you.”

It was obvious Sirius was upset, but he was not exactly close to his family and Alphard was no exception; his uncle was just one of the two family members he still talked to (the other being his cousin, Andromeda).

When sorted into Gryffindor many years ago, Sirius’ situation at home went dramatically downhill. He had never really agreed with the blood-purity nonsense but he was too young to understand or reject the ideas. Gryffindor was like a turning point for him, a chance to choose his life instead of taking the one handed to him. His parents forced him to attend all of the extremist pureblood gatherings and parties and balls in the hope that he would stop being so foolish, but instead that only set Sirius against them even more. That was where he really got to know his uncle.

Alphard was the brother of Sirius’ mother, Walburga, and, though he very occasionally attended family gatherings, he chose to live a more solitary life than most. So, at the aforementioned gatherings, Alphard was often found off in a corner alone, just watching, and that was where Sirius had found him. His uncle disagreed with how he was treated and sympathised but, having grown up with Walburga, was not about to say anything.

Over the years the two formed a bond, both not quite in but not quite out of the Black family, and Sirius had come to enjoy spending time, approximately twice a year with his uncle. However, the last time Sirius had seen him, back at Easter, he had been taken ill and over the coming months things had only gotten worse, though it seems to have been worse than predicted. All James could think was, why had Sirius not gone to him straight away instead of spending two days with the Marauders.

* * *

That evening was a solemn one in the Potter household. Alphard, as a Black, was seen as part of the Wizarding High Society, even though he had tried to keep away from it in his life, and so his death announcement was splashed in the pages of the _Evening Prophet_. James read the article alone in the kitchen:

 

> _This evening we must sadly announce the death of the pureblood wizard, Alphard Black, son of Pollux and Irma Black and brother of Walburga and Cygnus Black III. A representative of the family said, “the hole Mr Black leaves behind him is great and he shall be sorely missed by all as a loving son, brother and uncle.” The funeral will be held outside the Black crypt, Islington, London. The Ministry ask you request your portkeys as soon as possible._

James sighed, perfectly aware of how horrendous this Saturday was going to be. As a member of a pureblood family, and Sirius’ best friend, he was expected to be there, but as was the whole Black family, the Malfoys, the Crabbes, the Rosiers, the Lestranges, the Crouch family… and so continue the pompous pureblood families. The only reprieve James could think of was that it meant Marlene, as a McKinnon, would be there and as would Frank Longbottom, who would hopefully bring Alice too. Plus, the other Marauders would be there to support Sirius. He just hoped none of Sirius’ idiotic family members decided to provoke him. A family feud was not needed right now, especially with the fragile state of the Wizarding World.

Putting the funeral out of his mind, James went up to his bedroom on the third floor, passing Sirius’ closed door on the way. The death would not break his best friend, but he knew it had hit him hard.

But as James lay in bed, trying to sleep, he was not thinking about his closest friend; instead his thoughts drifted to the witch he had spent the day with. Lily was fragile and vulnerable underneath the thick wall she had put up to protect herself and she was stuck in a home where she was not very welcome for the summer. To make matters worse, as far as he was aware, he was the only one who knew about it. That needed to change.

Jumping out of bed, James scribbled a note to another of his old family friends, who just so happened to be Lily’s best friend.

 

> _Marley,_
> 
> _Saw Evans today in London and she wasn’t so good. I don’t know if she’s spoken to you but do me a favour and invite her to yours? She needs to get out the house and you know what she’s like, she won’t invite herself. Just have a sleepover for a few days or whatever you girls do, bring her on Saturday if you have to._
> 
> _Cheers,_
> 
> _James_

He briefly wondered if the letter seemed more than what it was, if it seemed like he was more invested in the witch’s wellbeing than he should be. Staring at the letter again, James shook the thought from his head and resolved to find one of the family owls before he changed his mind. It was likely that Carrington was already out hunting, but Llewellyn, the eagle owl James had named when he was nine and deeply obsessed with tales of the “Dangerous” Dai Llewellyn and his incredible risk taking in Quidditch, preferred to go out a bit later.

James headed to the wall of windows that opened out onto a balcony on the south side of the Manor and stepped out into the night air. For the beginning of summer, it was relatively chilly but that was unsurprising in England and the wizard was by far used to the bipolar British weather. James whistled and waited, hoping Llewellyn was around and did not take too long. Soon, the sound of wings could be heard and the large, regal bird landed on the stone balustrade and pecked at James’ hand.

“Sorry, mate, I haven’t got any treats,” James said softly, “but I’ll get you some if you take this to Marlene and bring her reply back straight away.” Owls could be tricky, especially Llewellyn. If you offended him, he would do nothing for you. Bribery was the only option. Quickly, before the bird could protest too much, James tied the note to its leg and it flew off.

James yawned, heading back into his bedroom. He had had quite the day.

* * *

Lily awoke the next day, yet again, to a sharp rapping of bony knuckles on her bedroom door. Again, she attempted ignore the noise and roll over, even debated putting a soundproofing charm on her bedroom, but then she realised the noise was not coming from the direction of her door, but the window.

Confused, the witch rolled out of bed and opened her curtains, revealing an owl she recognised to belong to the McKinnon family. Lily unlatched the window and the bird immediately flew in and perched itself on top of the wardrobe, dropping a letter on the bed as it went.

 

> _28 th June 1977_
> 
> _Lils,_
> 
> _I know you usually tend to spend your holidays with your family, but I have a feeling you could do with getting out sometimes. I mean, you and your sister don’t exactly get along and, as much as you love your parents, you don’t need to spend every second with them, especially if Petunia’s there._
> 
> _Why don’t you come spend the week at mine? You’ve never really had a chance to meet all my family and it’d be nice to see you. Plus, Mary is coming round tomorrow so we could all have a fun day. You don’t have to stay the whole week if you really don’t want to, but at least come for tomorrow and stay a night, okay? We’d really like to see you._
> 
> _Please write back, Lily, and please say yes._
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Marlene xoxo_

“Potter,” Lily muttered, rolling her eyes. Though she admitted that he had successfully silenced her sister and Tuney had then left her alone _all_ evening – which was brilliant – he should not have called on Marlene to help. He should not have interfered.

But in truth, Lily was going to send that letter to her best friend, which was still residing on her desk, so all Potter did was get there first. It was not _that_ much of a disaster.

The witch quickly grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled, _I’ll see you tomorrow_ , before attaching it to the owl’s leg and ducking as the bird swooped over her head and back out the window.

* * *

Lily informed her parents straight away before packing to leave. Though she would never admit it to anyone, she was grateful for what Potter had done. With that and the things he had done for her the day before, it seemed like he was turning over a new leaf, _they_ were turning over a new leaf. Maybe things between them would not be quite so bad anymore.

Promptly on Wednesday morning, Lily apparated outside her garden gate in the alley that ran along the end of the gardens on her street to the Leaky Cauldron. The witch was not overly fond of being back so soon, but Marlene had said she would meet Lily there to take her side-along to the McKinnon household, as she had never been.

Timidly, Lily opened the door to the great pub and entered, hoping she would not be recognised. No such luck of course. Tom, the landlord, called over to her almost straight away, “Red, hey Red, I take it Mr Potter got you home safe?” Lily nodded, but did not say anything. It very quickly became clear the gods were not being kind to the young witch, as Marlene took that precise moment to come up behind Lily, having heard exactly what Tom had said.

“Lily, Lily, Lily,” her friend said in a condescending tone, “I think there’s something you missed out in your little note to me.” Marley raised an eyebrow at her best friend and turned to take her toward the booth where she and Mary were sitting, adding under her breath, “and James too, it seems.”

Marlene slid onto the bench and scooted up so Lily could sit beside her. “So, do tell us, Lils, what you were doing in the Leaky Cauldron that required you to go home with James Potter, of all people?”

Lily rolled her eyes, she had so hoped she would avoid the Q&A but she was foolish to think such a thing when in the presence of her friends. “You _what_?!” Mary chimed in, clearly surprised and to be honest, the redhead could not blame her. The girls had been friends since first year and both were well aware of Lily’s detestation of James Potter _and_ lack of alcohol abuse through her teenage years.

Mary, like Lily, was a muggleborn and that was what had initially brought them together back in first year. The girl had the prettiest light brown hair that fell in waves to just below her shoulders and eyes a gorgeous shade of grey-blue that just pulled you in. She was naturally stunning which frustrated Lily to no end, especially when she had the most nightmarishly uncontrollable hair possible and her friends had effortless perfection in hair form.

In first year, Mary had been very quiet, almost like she felt she did not belong with them but, like Marlene had built Lily back up when Snape had crushed her, she also brought Mary out of her shell – Marley was a gift from the gods, it was true. Now, you could barely recognise quiet little Mary MacDonald because her brightness, laughter and smile lit up a room and shone infectiously.

“Lily! Come on, you can’t just hang out with _James Potter_ and not tell us every dirty little detail!” Mary exclaimed, that infectious grin currently plastered all over her face.

“Look, it wasn’t like that okay. I wasn’t feeling very well and he found me and took me home because I couldn’t apparate. That’s all,” Lily sighed, hoping the conversation would end with that but knowing it would not.

“You weren’t feeling very well in a pub? Would that have anything to do with copious amount of alcohol?” Marley joined in, Mary’s smile having passed on to her.

“There may have been a little bit of firewhiskey involved…” said Lily reluctantly, trying hard not to join in with the bloody grin fest that was taking place at their table.

Both girls burst into whoops and cheers and clapped her on the back, and Lily just could not help but join in, laughing more at her friends’ reaction than anything.

“Lily Evans the hardened drinker; who’d have thought it?” Mary laughed, bringing out the camera she always kept glued to her person and snapped Lily to remember the moment.

* * *

 

Once the girls calmed down, they decided to head off to the McKinnon house. Together they apparated to the Victorian terraced house that Lily thought looked rather small, especially because of what Marlene had always said about having a large family.

Stepping through the front door, Lily stopped in her tracks, unable to believe her eyes. The house, which looked like typical two storey building and like every other house on the street, was, in fact, nothing like any of the other houses on the street. There were four floors that Lily could count from where she stood and passageways leading just about everywhere. It was like the house had an undetectable extension charm placed on it, if that were even possible, or as though it were alive, as many believed Hogwarts was. It was enchanting.

Lily smiled, thankful for her wonderful friends… and also a tiny bit for James Potter.

The girls spent the day catching up, laughing and generally enjoying themselves - Marlene talked of quidditch, Mary took photos (a passion she had maintained from her muggle life and only become more exciting with the addition of their ability to move) and Lily confided in them her situation with Petunia. While Mary was aware of the Evans’ having family problems, she did not know the details and letting someone else in was hard for Lily. She never meant to bring Potter into it, and though she still regretted it, it did bring her to look at him in a different way. This she did not tell the girls.

Soon it was time to sleep and the trio settled in Marlene’s bedroom, which seemed, from the inside, almost too big to be accommodated by the house and yet it existed. Sleep came quickly, having had a busy day together and, though Lily had not planned to, she had a feeling she would end up staying the week.

* * *

 

Saturday rolled around quicker than expected and the black dress robes worn by the members of the Potter household punctuated the solemn day. Remus and Peter had stayed over the night before and, together with Mr and Mrs Potter, they took their designated portkey to Islington.

However, the McKinnon household was less organised. Lily, who had not been informed she would be attending a funeral should she choose to stay the week, had not really bought anything suitable and had spent all morning attempting to transfigure a top and skirt into a dress and charm it black. The charming was working far better than transfiguration, but that was the story of her life.

Minutes before the portkey was due to leave, Lily rushed down the three flights of stairs between Marlene’s room and the living room. There, the rest of the rather large McKinnon family was gathered around a small, shabby-looking alarm clock. Just at the last second, Lily touched her finger to the object, feeling the hook in her bellybutton as everyone was transported from the house to a place where they joined the other witches and wizards attending the funeral.

The property, completely invisible to the muggle eye, was situated not far from Sirius’ childhood home and the place where all Blacks were buried since way back in the medieval times. The crypt itself was a large, black, granite box, essentially, marked with the Black crest and revolting motto, _‘Toujours pur’_. It was incredible to think that every Black from the fifth century until now was residing in that building, but with magic, almost anything was possible.

Entering the iron-gated plot of land surrounding the crypt, Sirius found himself among families who, like his, had embraced the ideals of pureblood supremacy, families who were too scared to speak up against it and even the followers of the wizard dubbing himself as ‘Lord Voldemort’. Sirius was fairly certain that his own family were heavily involved with Voldemort and even wondered whether he would rear his, supposedly ugly, face today. Though somehow that seemed unlikely.

The only reprieve was the Potters, McKinnons and Longbottoms; Sirius even thought he spotted the towering figure and trademark long, white beard of his headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.

The service was uncomfortable to say the least. The Black family sat at the front with their close extended relatives, like the Malfoys, Lestranges and Crabbes, beside them. The crowd who had turned up were mainly the purebloods of the wizarding high society and Ministry officials, both required to pay their respects to a member of a high profile family.

However, as Sirius sat at the back with his friends, he could not help but think how much Alphard would have hated the whole thing. His uncle hated big occasions and hated being the centre of attention, both of which were main characteristics of his funeral.

Sirius was glad for his friends’ support. Admittedly, Prongs, Marley and Frank were required to be present but Moony and Wormtail had come too. Plus, Alice had come with Frank and even the Lovely Miss Evans had turned up with the McKinnons. He would never admit he needed it, but Sirius was glad for his friends’ support.

* * *

 

It was his uncle’s funeral, but in all honesty, Regulus barely knew the wizard. In fact, he could not even remember ever talking to him. The only thing he recalled was that he looked a lot like his other uncle, Cygnus, but older and quieter. He had also always seemed far kinder than his two siblings. 

The service was pleasant. They talked of beliefs, strength of character, what a loss to the wizarding world it was and all of that. It was bullshit. His mother had clearly put everything together.

No one at the funeral really knew Uncle Alphard, Regulus supposed, and yet they all had to be there; if anything was more important than beliefs, it was blood.

* * *

 

It was over, finally. Lily had felt like the odd witch out all day, as though she had had a target on her back or something. Her fiery, red hair had always made her feel conspicuous but this was something different, something more. It hit her just minutes into the service as she looked around and noted the number of people who were throwing her dirty looks. Why she had not realised before that moment, she was unsure, but now she felt foolish. She was the only muggleborn witch or wizard present. She had even heard Sirius say something about his cousin Andromeda not coming because she had married a muggleborn.

The thought of being surrounded by so many pureblood supremacists worried Lily slightly, even though she knew they would not do anything with so many Ministry officials and Dumbledore present. It still shook her up a bit.

As Lily, accompanied by Marlene and her family, started to head back to the entrance, James approached, the other three Marauders nowhere to be seen. “Everyone is staying at mine tonight – I’ve invited MacDonald, Wright and Bones too. It’d be good to see you there,” he said, looking directly at Lily.

First Monday, and now this? What was up with James Potter? They hung out in a big group occasionally at school and that was fine; they avoided each other as much as possible and that was fine. But somehow, in the space of one week, he had managed to help her twice, not say a single mocking word to her, be nice to her, actually sound like her cared about her more than once, and now he was directly requesting her presence and sounding like he genuinely wanted her there.

They did not get along. James Potter and Lily Evans were not friends. If they ended up somehow in the same room, there would be snarky comments from both parties, and probably a detention or two flung Potter’s way. The only reason they had cooled down a little last year was for their friends’ sakes, but that did not mean they were friends and it did not mean that they got along. So why had things changed?

Lily did not have time to think it over as Marley confirmed they would be there and headed off as her friend tailed behind.

* * *

 

“Mr Black, your presence is required in the reading of the will,” a short, plump wizard interrupted Sirius’ thoughts as he stood, staring at the crypt that was now his uncle’s tomb. The wizard continued, “Your mother-”

“That woman is not my mother,” Sirius interrupted, eyes not moving from the black granite.

“As you wish. Mrs Black has allowed us to use her home to read the will and the close family will be congregating there shortly.” With that, the man departed, leaving Sirius alone.

Being back in his childhood home was the last thing he wanted, especially with the people who were supposed to be his family. He was surprised Walburga had even allowed him to be let back into the house.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out what looked to a muggle eye to simply be a mirror, however, upon muttering “James Potter”, a different face appeared in the glass instead of Sirius’.

“Padfoot, what’s up?” James said into his identical mirror that showed the face of his best friend.

“Alphard’s will is being read in Grimmauld Place so I have to head over. Don’t wait, I’ll see you back at home,” Sirius replied into his own as he began to leave the plot where the crypt was concealed.

“Not a chance, I’m coming with you. There is no way in Godric’s Hell that I’m letting you walk into a den of snakes on your own. No way. I’ll meet you there,” James finished, his face disappearing from Sirius’ mirror, leaving him with only his own.

While Sirius was not overly fond of the idea of James coming with him into said den of snakes, it would be better than going alone. Maybe Prongs would be able to keep him in check.

* * *

 

“Right, everyone is here. That is, apart from Mrs Andromeda Tonks, am I correct?” The Ministry official looked around the room, walls plastered with the faces of the wizards and witches in front of him in the form of a family tree. The looks of disgust on the faces of his present company told him they were not fond of the particular missing family member. 

“Yes,” Sirius said from the corner of the room, as far away from his family and as close to the door as he could possibly get, where he stood with James. It seemed no one else was going to answer the question and Sirius just wanted it all to be over so he could get out of there. The living room of Number 12, Grimmauld Place still had the vile family tree plastered on the walls, minus a few little details such as his face and Dromeda’s, who had been blasted off when Sirius still lived there. He assumed his had gone just after he moved in with the Potters.

“Good. Right. We will begin then,” the wizard reshuffled his papers, and took a pair of reading glasses from his robes, “‘Herein is set forth the last will and testament of Alphard Canopus Black.’ Now, Mr Black left only one specific bequest. The remainder of his estate, consisting of Number 8, Waddlbury Road, Newmarket, Suffolk and its contents is to be split evenly between his two siblings, Mrs Walburga Agave Black and Mr Cygnus Black III.”

At this point the portly wizard turned to Sirius and James stood in the corner, pushing his glasses back up his nose, “Mr Black’s one and only specific bequest was… ‘To Sirius Arcturus Black, I leave my Gringotts Vault, Number Seven Hundred and Eleven, including it’s contents in its entirety.”

Mouths dropped of every single person in he room except one. James Potter stood in the doorway, smirking like a pixie that had just tied a wizard’s shoelaces together. Sirius had pretty much just inherited his uncle’s whole fortune, and the Black’s had come out of it with a house and a load of junk.

The first person to move was Walburga. Her black eyes were like death and she glared daggers at her eldest son as she slowly stood. “You.” She paused, trying hard to keep her voice under control, but quickly giving up. “YOU _FILTHY_ BLOOD TRAITOR. A STAIN OF DISHONOUR. YOU ARE _NOTHING_ BUT A TAINT OF SHAME ON THE HOUSE OF OUR FATHERS. HOW _DARE_ YOU STEP A FOOT INSIDE THIS HOUSE,” the woman screamed, saliva flying from her mouth with each syllable, eyes on fire.

Suddenly, the witch screeched and raised her wand and Sirius thought for a moment that he was about to die, but instead Walburga turned and fired, purple flames shooting from the tip of her wand and hitting the spot on the wall where her brother’s face used to reside.

“GET OUT!” she screamed again, to her disowned son and his best friend. Both were out of London before Walburga Black broke down on her living room floor, heartbroken by the abandonment of now both her brother and her son.

 

 


	4. Butterbeer is Thicker Than Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I am not, nor will I ever be, J.K. Rowling and therefore, the majority of this fic is not mine.

Potter Manor was packed for the next few weeks with comings and goings of all kinds of wizards, witches and magical beings. Some to see Mrs Potter, some to see Mr Potter on the rare occasion he was at home, but most to see James Potter.

It all began after Alphard’s funeral when all nine, soon-to-be, seventh year Gryffindors plus special guests Frank Longbottom and Edgar Bones assembled in the Potter household for a pick-me-up or five, and from then on the eleven friends often ended up in the Worcestershire Manor at any spare moment.

James and Sirius returned home from the reading of the will to find everyone already present and waiting in the den. Tippy had brought in masses of food, which she had clearly been making all afternoon, including desserts, and when the final two Marauders arrived, Sirius went straight over and picked up a piece of chocolate cake.

He grinned, clearly wanting to put the day behind him, and dived in, everyone else following his lead. Soon, there was a satisfied mumbling around the room as everyone’s hunger was beginning to be satiated. 

“I think after today we all deserve a thoroughly good drink, don’t you?” James stood and headed over to the cabinet in the corner and pulled out multiple bottles, leaving the door open because he was pretty sure they would need some more a bit later.

On the table he placed a large bottle of Ogden’s Firewhiskey, some Beetle Berry Whiskey, a few bottles of Daisyroot Draught and even some good old Butterbeer. He figured that would cover just about everybody, no matter how little alcohol they wished to consume, but he also got Tippy to bring some pumpkin juice from the kitchen just in case.

Sirius was over in a flash, stealing the bottle of Ogden’s and taking a swig before passing it to James. They needed it after having to deal with the Blacks – which reminded James, he and Sirius needed to talk about that later.

Marlene took the bottle from James and before long, just about everybody had had some firewhiskey and their own drinks. Lily decided to play it cool, sticking to the Butterbeer and having a tiny sip of firewhiskey when it was handed to her. She did not want a repeat of Monday, especially not in Potter’s own house. She felt awkward enough as it was.

When she had arrived with Marlene, Lily’s mouth had dropped to the floor. She knew Potter was well off and his family were quite prominent and all but _oh my Merlin_. The Manor was huge, nestled in the Worcestershire countryside and surrounded by the Malvern Hills. The grey and brown stones, high roofs and huge chimneys towered over the acres of land that was clearly also owned by the Potters. There were archways, timber beams, flagstones, statues of centaurs and wizards and archers and a bloody _lake_. James- _bloody_ -Potter had a _bloody_ lake.

The inside of the house was just as incredible. An elf met the two witches at the door and took their things before Marlene led her to the den. The main entrance hall was incredible, with two sets of stairs on either side of the passageway to the rest of the house. Lily peeked into every room on the way through to the den and saw large, open fireplaces, low beams, wood panelling on the walls and stunning chandeliers. It had the grandeur of Hogwarts but warmer and smaller.

For a brief moment, Lily wondered if Potter had invited her just to show off his house. It would be the kind of thing he would have done back in fifth year when she believed his head could not have gotten any bigger… but at the same time, he had never mentioned the place. In all the time she had argued with him, he had never mentioned that he lived in a mansion or the true extent of his wealth. Maybe he had never been as bad as she had made him out to be.

Lily took a sip of her firewhiskey and laid her head in Mary’s lap who was sat next to her. She was a tall, slip of a girl with eyes of a gorgeous dull blue that shone down as she looked at her friend, took a photo of her, and giggled, “Tired, Lil?” 

“Maybe,” Lily groaned at the flash of the camera, but then laughed as Mary took a sip of her own drink, some Daisyroot Draught, and missed her mouth, spilling it down her top. Both girls burst into fits of giggles that soon drew the attention of the others who joined in the mirth.

“Got a bit of a drinking problem there, MacDonald?” Lupin smirked, his green eyes sparkling as he laughed.

The only two people in the room not laughing were Dee and Edgar who were snuggled in the corner, whispering and giggling to each other in what Sirius believed was a revolting fashion. He picked up a piece of bream from the table and chucked it at Edgar’s forehead, missing his target and instead hitting Dee.

“Oi! Bones! Wright! Want to join in with everyone else or shall we get Tippy to make you up a room?” Laughter rang around the room again as Dee turned a shade of red that competed with Lily’s hair.

“Talking of rooms,” a grin spread across Marley’s face that made Lily feel self-conscious, “Potter, you neglected to tell me in your letter how you took our precious Miss Evans home; you didn’t just _see_ her in London. Care to explain?”

Now it was Lily’s turn to blush. She sat up straight and glared daggers at her best friend. The information even caught the attention of Dee and Edgar who shuffled close into the group and, in unison with Alice, Frank and the other three Marauders exclaimed, “ _WHAT_?!”

 “Oh, wow, seems Mary and I were the only ones who knew…” the witch said innocently. Lily was going to _kill_ her.

The whole time James did not say a word, just raised his eyebrows and took another drink.

“Whoa now, Prongs, why were we not informed?” Sirius exclaimed, acting offended.

“Yeah, you can’t have possibly believed this information was unimportant?” Peter Pettigrew chimed in, sat in the corner nursing some Berry Ocky Rot.

Remus, Peter and Sirius continued to pester James while the rest watched on, amused, but Lily was biting her lip, nervous as what Potter might say when pushed.

Suddenly, she stood and shouted, “Guys, stop!” Everyone shut up and she was centre of attention, somewhere she was not very often and certainly did not enjoy being. “Potter just took me home, okay? I had been in the Leaky Cauldron with a firewhiskey or two for a few hours too many and so he took me home so I didn’t splinch myself.”

The last thing she wanted to do was explain why she had been drinking and so Lily was thankful when Marlene stood at that point and said, “Come on then, Lovely Lily, let’s see you down some firewhiskey. Hey, that almost rhymes!” Her best friend had effortlessly diverted the attention from _why_ Lily was drinking to _whether or not she could_ and, though she was not keen on the idea, the witch was still grateful for the diversion.

A shy smile broke across Lily’s lips as she said, “Go on then, chuck me a bottle.” She caught the Ogden’s thrown at her and unscrewed the lid, licking her lips in preparation. Then she pressed the glass to them and took a good two gulps before pulling away and gasping as the golden liquid burned down her throat. Cheers erupted around her as she passed the bottle to Marley who did the same as Lily sat back on the floor, hoping to fade back into the background. 

* * *

After many laughs and even more drinking, the group drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning, summoning blankets and pillows and settling down. Just as Sirius’ eyes were about to close, he heard a voice beside him calling his name.

 “Padfoot. Pads! Padfoot!” the harsh whisper of his best friend called. “We need to talk about the will.” 

Both James and Sirius had, by this point, consumed considerable amounts of alcohol that even they were struggling to keep clear heads. “Shu’up, Prongs,” groaned Sirius, “’Morro’. Talk ‘morro’” With that, the wizard rolled over and was asleep before you could say ‘firewhiskey’, leaving James alone with his thoughts.

His best friend had, over night, become relatively well off. The girl he had convinced himself he was going to get over was sleeping in his house, mere feet away from him. To make things that much worse, the day before he had overheard his father saying something about unexplained disappearances that were being kept out of the _Prophet_ to his mother. Everything was changing around him and he was still not totally sure if all of the changes were for the better or the worst.

* * *

In the morning, the friends ate breakfast in the Potter’s dining room – a high ceilinged room with wooden panelling to match the rest of the house. The thing that Lily loved the most, however, was the stucco ceiling decorated with fleurs-de-lis. She found it absolutely enchanting.

Frank and Alice had departed early, just grabbing some toast and heading off, because the former needed to get back to Auror Training. In just two short weeks, it would be all over and he would be a fully qualified Auror so both were greatly looking forward to that.

Out of the nine still in the Potter’s house, there was only one Lily was interested in talking to, but he and the other resident of the house were mysteriously absent. Lily was still puzzling over her what was happening between her and Potter. Were they friends? Were they taking an argument hiatus? Was this just another one of his schemes to get her to be one of the girls who worship the ground he walks on?

However, instead of eating scotch pancakes and toast with their friends, James and Sirius were in the kitchen not too far from the dining room, sat on the work surfaces in deep conversation.

“You do realise what my inheritance means, right?”

“It means you meant a lot to your uncle. He appreciated all the care you took over him,” James said, hoping that was the answer and not wanting to hear the real one.

“No. Well, yes, but it also means I don’t have to rely on you and your family anymore. I’ve been leeching off your kindness and generosity for too long.” It was the answer James knew was coming but he still hated it.

“You know we don’t mind and Mum loves you. You’re practically family, so don’t think like that.” 

“Prongs, I’m going to look for a flat over the next week or so. I want to move in before we go to the Hollow.”

“What? Why are you rushing this, you don’t want to do this now.”

“Calm down, mate, it’s okay. It’s not like I’m leaving forever. Mum already said I could come for Sunday lunch and Moony and Wormy are around all the time anyway so it’ll just be like it is with them.”

He had only properly lived with the Potters for a year – meaning only for last summer and Christmas – but Sirius had truly become part of the family. But still, he needed his own place, somewhere in the world to call his own. He just needed the independence.

“You mean you told my _mother_ before _me_?!” James was getting more and more upset with each thing his best friend said. Having lived his younger life growing up alone, having Sirius with him in his own home 24/7, while to some he would be a pain, to James it was like heaven. They could do whatever they wanted every single day and it was great. Admittedly, not much would change with Sirius not actually living in the house, but it would be different. James did not like this kind of different.

“Well, yeah, we were both up early and she asked about the reading of the will and-”

James interrupted with, “I can’t believe this,” and left the room, dragging a hand through his already sleep mussed hair. Frustrated and annoyed, he was barely looking where he was going when he walked into a blur of red.

Lily had been leaving the dining room to find the bathroom when James practically mowed her down. She stumbled but regained her balance on her own. “Sorry, Potter,” the witch said politely. “Hey, where’s the bathroom in this place?” 

Not in the mood for directions, or anyone or anything, in fact, just walked away, storming up to his bedroom.

“Okay then,” Lily muttered, confused by the reaction. Maybe that was the explanation she had been looking for. He had invited her out of politeness and the invitation was no longer extended. “Arrogant prat, you could have at just said,” she whispered, shaking her head to herself before heading back to the den to get her things and tell Marlene she was going home. She had had just enough of James Potter for the week… _and_ the summer.

* * *

And so the next few weeks of summer passed in a haze of witches and wizards in and out of Potter Manor and Lily finding numerous ways to avoid both her own house _and_ the Potters’. It was a mean feat but she had just about managed to avoid a certain wizard successfully for the majority of it. 

James, upset at his best friend’s keenness to move out, tried not to show how he felt. Not wanting to spoil what could be his last few weeks living with Sirius. The pair hung out as normal and the other two Marauders came over frequently and everything seemed fine, but below the surface there was tension - tension that was heightened on a particular summer day when Sirius decided to raise the discussion of a _very_ particular redhead.

“Prongs, you never did tell us what was going on with the Oh-So-Lovely Lily. Don’t think we’ve forgotten,” he said with a smirk as the four wizards grabbed broomsticks from the den and headed out into one of the fields surrounding Potter Manor in which Mr Potter had built goal posts when James was younger.

“Yeah, what happened to the Prongs that said, and I quote, ‘She hasn’t fallen for my devilish charms and ravishing smile so she’s clearly not worth wasting them on’?” Remus added with a smirk as he strode ahead.

Peter jumped in then, adding, “But why would he want to get over her, guys, I mean Lily is attractive, right?” The other two boys rolled their eyes at Wormtail’s classic stating-the-obvious statement.

James shook his head at his friends. “The thing you are failing to realise here, lads, is that I _am_ over the _Oh-So-Lovely_ Miss Evans,” and with that he mounted his brand new Nimbus 1500 and kicked off the ground, ruffling his hair and muttering as he flew away, “and completely ruined what little friendship we may have had.”

Completely ashamed of his actions the day after Alphard’s funeral, James had frequently tried to write to Evans, hoping he could patch up the mess he had made. Every time James wrote, he ended up crumpling up the parchment and throwing it away – he sounded too desperate, or it seemed more than it was. He just could not get happy with what he was writing so eventually he gave up. At least she was not spending the summer alone, hiding form her sister. The girls would look after her, James knew that.

* * *

During the weeks following the funeral, Lily had managed to find a way to please just about everyone; [F1]   a talent that she thrived off of. On the days she was staying at home, she would have breakfast with her parents, taking the time to enjoy their company before scooting out of the house before Petunia could say anything about her presence. Her days she would spend with Marley or Mary or Dee or Alice or anyone really who was around – Lily even spent a day with Remus Lupin at one point when she had bumped into him in Diagon Alley – or if her friends were busy, she would spend her time doing school work and reading novels in the café which resided in her favourite place in Cokeworth – Mr Brocklehurst’s Book Shop – which meant she did not have to intrude on their plans.

All in all, Lily had had a relatively pleasant few weeks. To make things even better, she had successfully avoided James Potter and his odd moods. There had been a few times when in was a close call and she had spotted him just in the nick of time so she could duck into an open shop or alleyway. The girls had thought Lily was going insane, but she did not care, she just did not want to see the bloke. 

On one particular summer day, Lily was sat beneath an oak tree reading _Jane Eyre_ for the _nineteen-billionth_ time in the park not far from her house – the furthest tree, you must note, she could find from the area where she and Snape had once hung out. That was exactly where and what Lily Evans was doing at the precise moment when aforementioned Severus Snape appeared in directly in front of her, casting a shadow across her and blocking her sunlight.

Upon seeing the wizard, Lily jumped up and grabbed her things, ready for a nifty escape should it be required. All sorts of thoughts ran through her head. She had not seen him all summer, although they lived in the same town, so why was he suddenly, clearly, seeking her out now.

“What do you want, Snape?” Lily said, annoyed that anyone, let alone him, would dare intrude on her peace.

“To talk. Listen, Lily, I never meant–”

“– I don’t want to hear it, Sev,” the witch snapped. “It doesn’t matter what you may or may not have meant to do. It happened and it’s over. We are over. We have no friendship, and to be honest, I wish I had realised who you truly were sooner.”

Snape looked taken aback by her blunt and scathing remark. He had never put Lily down for cruel, so clearly something or some _one_ had changed her. Those _Gryffindors_ must have done something to her, put thoughts in her head.

As Snape immediately tried to blame anyone but himself, Lily had taken out her wand and was holding it in front of her, fear in her eyes, slowly backing away. It was at that point that the Slytherin realised he was gripping his own wand so hard that his knuckles were turning white. 

He just had time to stutter out a, “No, Lily, it’s not–”, before she turned on the spot and disappeared in front of his eyes. “Shit.”

* * *

With nowhere else to go in that precise moment of panic, Lily disapparated without thought to where she was headed and only realised upon arrival which particular house, or mansion in this case, had come to mind. However, that was not the only thing that she realised upon arrival. 

A sharp shot of pain travelled through her body when she tried to move that made her cry out in pain. Lily did not understand what she could have possibly landed on that would hurt her that badly, unless… unless she had been splinched. She dared not look, scared of what she would find, but she had to try and ignore the pain to move. She _had_ to get out of there. She did _not_ want to see him. 

Him being James Potter, of course.

Being splinched, however, meant Lily could not apparate without causing more damage by splinching herself again and, _of course_ , James- _bloody_ -Potter had to live in the middle of nowhere. She could not get out of there.

Trying to move only caused her more pain and another scream escaped the witch’s lips, this time loader than the first. Her wand. She needed her wand. Maybe that would help. 

Unfortunately for Lily, it was just not her day. Though the first scream went unheard, the second drew the attention of the four wizards flying around not too far from where Miss Evans had landed.

“What was that?” Moony was the first to ask the question, his hearing amplified by his werewolf genes.

“What was what?” Wormtail chimed in, still concentrating on trying to get past Prongs and to the goal hoops.

“I heard it too, someone screamed, that direction,” Padfoot motioned towards a point between where they were and the Manor. 

Before anyone else had a chance to say anything, Prongs turned his broom almost vertically downwards headed towards the spot where his best friend had pointed. The other Marauders followed behind, Sirius copying James’ move while the other two, non-quidditch players, went for a more careful approach.

Up until the point that a small black dot started flying exceedingly quickly toward her, Lily had not noticed the Marauders playing quidditch. However, as soon as she saw them heading towards her, she cursed and tried to drag herself away and hide. The sharp pain wracked her body again and she tried her best to muffle it, but failed.

She wanted to cry. The pain was starting to overwhelm her and she knew if she was not found, there was a chance it could be irreparable, so instead of fighting it, Lily just lay and waited, the tears rolling down her face.

Naturally, Potter was first on the scene, with Black not far behind. “ _Evans_? What are you– oh, _bloody hell_ , what _happened_ to you?” Shock and then fear registered in James’ face as he saw the blood soaking through her torn jeans. She tried to speak but all that came out of her mouth were groans and winces of pain. He turned to his friend, saying, “Pads, get to the house and find Mum, then a blanket and prepare somewhere for me to put her. _Go_!”

Nervously, James ran a hand through his wind-tousled hair, dumping his broom on the floor and moving to pick up Lily. She winced at his touch and refused to look at him he picked her up and carried her to the house, as carefully and quickly as he could manage.

Remus and Peter, seeing James heading toward the house in the distance, picked up his broom and Lily’s bag, which had also been left at the scene, remounted their brooms and flew back to the Manor.

* * *

Somewhere between being picked up by James Potter and arriving at Potter Manor, Lily passed out. By the time she woke up, the pain was gone, or so she thought. She certainly could not feel anything in her legs, or any part of her for that matter. However, she could hear muttering around her and figured by the comfort and duvet over her that she had been moved onto a bed.

“Did her finger just twitch? I could have sworn her finger moved,” a female voice said from beside her. 

“Maybe, I don’t know,” said a male one in the same direction as the first.

“I can’t believe she managed to get herself splinched. _Lily Evans_ splinched?! She was the first in our year to successfully apparate! Thank Merlin you got to her, Prongs,” another male voice chimed in.

Keeping her eyes shut to listen to the conversation, Lily tried to keep her breathing as even as possible so as not to alert her friends of her consciousness. She was glad Marlene had come, though; maybe she could avoid any conversation with Potter if she was there.

“Do you think it hurt?” A second female voice spoke up, shooting Lily’s plan in the foot as she snorted loudly, turning all the heads (which had snapped to Mary at her question) back to the witch lying in bed. However, the snort caused a twinge of pain to shoot up her leg and she winced as she opened her eyes.

“I told you she was awake,” exclaimed Marlene, who quickly moved closer to Lily and took her hand. “Hey there, Lil, you feeling any better? Can I get you anything?” And then the interrogation began.

“How did you do it?”

“What happened?”

“Why did you come _here_?”

“What were you thinking?”

 “Do you know how much blood you lost?”

“You’re lucky you still have your leg.”

“What happened?”

“CHILDREN! Leave the girl alone,” Mrs Potter entered the room and went straight over to Lily with a glass of water and a straw. She placed the straw in the younger witch’s mouth and let her drink. “Feeling better?” Andrea asked when she was done.

“Yeah,” was all Lily could croak out, her throat still slightly dry. She had no idea how long she had been out and it was clear that, though she was numb, the pain was still there.

“Okay, well, I’ve sent an owl to your parents to tell them you’ll be staying here for a few days or maybe longer, depending on how long it takes until you’re strong enough. I don’t want you travelling like this.”

Any colour Lily had regained completely drained out of her face. Not only had an owl been sent to her house, Merlin knows she would have an earful from her sister if, God forbid, the neighbours saw, or even worse, Vernon had been there. Furthermore, she would be staying for, possibly, a week in the same house as James Potter, aka mood-swinging-former-slash-current-feuding-buddy-but-also-saviour-of-her-life. To say their relationship had become complicated was an understatement.

Lily tried to nod, saying she had heard what Mrs Potter had said, but even the tiniest movement of her body hurt, so she muttered an, “okay,” through her wince of pain.

The older witch turned around then to Lily’s friends and glared, specifically at her sons. “Right you lot, out. I want Lily to have some rest. She doesn’t need you lot crowding around her. You’re all allowed to stay the night and/or come back tomorrow to see her but for tonight, she needs rest. Leave her be.” With that, Mrs Potter ushered everyone out and left Lily alone again.

* * *

“Evans? _Evans_?! **_Lily_**? Lil, come on, stay with me! Fuck, _come on, Evans_!” James shook the limp figure in his arms, the blood coming from, he assumed, her leg, completely soaking her jeans. She cannot just pass out. Not with this much blood loss. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He ran to the house now, too scared to only power walk. His mother was there to greet him, and led him into the nearest room where Sirius was waiting by the sofa with a blanket. “She just lost consciousness,” James said as his mother began shouting orders to anyone who would listen and cutting off the girl’s jeans. Immediately, both Potters realised Lily had been splinched and started to work on that, James applying dittany to the wounds while his mother cast a numbing charm on her body and dribbling some dreamless sleep potion in her mouth to stop her coming to while they were working.

Once they had done all they could and moved the girl to a bedroom, Mrs Potter contacted the Evans’ and the Marauders went to get Mary and Marlene but James never left Lily’s side. The whole time, panicking that she may never wake up… and she did not. 

That was the moment the wizard began realising something was wrong. He could have sworn he had a memory of Lily waking and speaking to his mother, but now she had just been pronounced dead. People were planning the funeral. This was not right. James tried to tell someone but nobody was listening to him.

* * *

James awoke with a start, sweat dripping down his forehead and breathing heavily. It was only a dream. Lily really had woken up. She was okay. She would recover. Everything was going to be okay.

Maybe he should just check on her…

Getting out of bed, James tiptoed out of his bedroom and down the corridor. She was in a bedroom on the first floor, just below his own, and the wizard pushed open the door soundlessly.

Lily was sound asleep, but James could tell that she was definitely breathing. From the doorway her could clearly see her chest rising and falling in the nightdress his mother had put on her, having ruined the only clothes she had. With a relieved smile, he shut the door again and headed back to his room and back to sleep.

* * *

 

The next day, Lily woke to her own clothes at the bottom of the large, fluffy bed in the Potters’ house and _Jane Eyre_ beside her. Soon she was surrounded by her friends, all of whom where anxious to make sure she was okay. Marley said she had been to see her parents to get some of her things and even found her book among the things recovered from where she apparated to outside. Lily thanked her and was once again subjected to questioning from everyone present.

As she began to answer, the witch noted an absence. Potter was not there. Mary, Marlene, Remus, Peter and even Sirius were all there, but not Potter. She tried, but struggled, to ignore his (very loud) absence.

“Snape confronted me and I needed to get away quickly. I wasn’t concentrating,” Lily answered the ‘how did it happen’ that was going through everyone’s minds.

“Snivellus. He’ll pay,” muttered Sirius, which gained a glare from Lily. She was okay and she did not want anyone else getting hurt at the hand of that bastard.

“I don’t even know how I ended up here. I didn’t realise I even had a destination until I arrived,” the girl answered the next question thrown at her – ‘why here?’

After answering every question her friend’s had, her stomach rumbled rather loudly and within a flash, Lily had pancakes and pumpkin juice in front of her. She had to admit, the food was amazing, as was the service, but both being the centre of attention and in James Potter’s house were not quite so ideal.

* * *

The next week passed in a blur, with Lily eventually being able to stand, wash herself without assistance, and even shuffle around with a walking stick. It was still painful, but she took a draught everyday that helped and she was definitely getting stronger.

She had also successfully avoided Potter for most of the time. There had been one awkward moment when she had been coming back from the shower and James had almost knocked her over coming from his parents’ room that was on the same floor. He apologised profusely, unlike last time he almost took her out, and went on his way, but there was a lingering concern in his eyes that she was not sure why he had.

He did not care about her, remember? He was probably getting annoyed that she was in his house so much again. If it was not for Mrs Potter, Lily was sure he would have chucked her out again.

Mary and Marlene popped in every so often, obviously not able to stay the whole time, and cheered her up. They brought her books and sweets and all sorts to make her feel better, and it did work. 

One person who had really surprised her in the week she had been at the Potters was Sirius. He came and sat with her pretty much every day, keeping her updated on what was going on with all her friends. They would laugh together as he told her about the ditzy things Mary had gotten up to or the silly mistakes Peter had made when trying to set off a load of dungbombs and ended up getting himself covered. Lily was delighted for him when he told her that he had found the perfect flat to buy with the money his uncle had left him and he asked about all of her get well cards and gifts from friends.

It was sweet really, how much he seemed to care. It was nice. Lily and Sirius had never been particularly close, especially with him being one of the top troublemakers and Lily a prefect, but they had always gotten along better than, say James. But now there was something more. They were friends. He made her laugh and she was a good listening ear, especially with James still not wanting to hear about his plans to move out.

If one good thing had come out of Lily being splinched, it was her newfound friendship with Sirius Black.


	5. Concerts and Close Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still not JKR.
> 
> BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO HAVE READ THE HARRY POTTER PREQUEL. IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO (OR NOT IN A WHILE) YOU CAN FIND IT ON MUGGLENET.

Just over a week after being splinched, Mrs Potter believed Lily had recovered enough to be taken home by side-along apparition. She did, however, insist that James take her, due to the fact he had been before and had a clearer image destination to reduce the risk of further damage to the girl.

Reluctant, but in desperate need of going home, Lily agreed and so she packed up her things and headed back to Cokeworth. She said goodbye to Potter and left him watching her hobble back into her house, still worried about her, especially as she entered the house with her horrible sister.

There were only a few weeks left of summer, two of which would be spent in Godric’s Hollow, so when James arrived back at his house to find Sirius packing his things, his face fell.Since Alphard’s funeral, both parties had skirted around the topic of moving out expertly, but it seemed the day had come when it could be avoided no longer. 

“Prongs,” Sirius stopped what he was doing, noticing his friend at the doorway of his room. “Listen, I’m sorry, but I just need my own space, y’know, and now I have the chance to do that.”

James nodded solemnly and turned to enter his own bedroom opposite. “Hey, Prongs,” Sirius called out again, this time a smirk lighting up his face, “I have a moving out present for you, well, for us.”

At that, the other wizard turned back, confused, “What?”

Sirius, who clearly could not contain his excitement, ran out of the room past his friend and practically jumped down two flights of stairs. James followed apprehensively, picking up to a jog in order to keep up with Padfoot. The wizard had stopped in the den, by the door that went out into the fields, and was standing right beside what seemed to be some kind of transportation machine. James was sure that if he had not taken Muggle Studies in third year, he would not have been able to recognise it as a motorcycle.

“It’s a… an autocycle. No, a cyclemotor… damn, no, that’s not it… Umm, well it’s a mug–”

“I think the word your looking for it motorcycle, Pads. It’s a motorcycle,” James interrupted with a chuckle.

“Yeah, well, I thought we could keep it here, y’know, do it up and give it _special features_ ,” Sirius lowered his voice for the last part. “It would mean I’d have to come back here to help even though I’m living elsewhere. What do you think? Up for the challenge?”

James laughed again with a smile starting to spread across his face as the tension eased between the two, “Yeah, I’m up for it.” 

It may have been the end of an era for the boys, having Sirius move out, but at least he was going out with a bang.

* * *

Lily was lucky to be alive, and that is completely ignoring the fact that she had gotten splinched and lost enough blood to pass out. Having an owl fly straight through the Evans’ kitchen window in the middle of the afternoon and drop a letter on the kitchen table was, in Petunia’s opinion, the most abnormal thing that could possibly happen, and Lily had not heard anything but ‘what the neighbours must have thought’ since she arrived home. It was just her luck that Tuney had been home when Mrs Potter had sent the owl to her parents. Fortunately, Vernon had not been present at the time so it could have been worse.

Taking it easy and not wanting to worsen her leg, Lily resided mainly in her bedroom and only went for a short walk in order to exercise it. She was still using the stick that Mrs Potter had transfigured for her, but the witch could now walk short distances without it.

Lily was sat on her bed with her leg propped up on pillows doing some additional reading on Egyptian spellwork for Ancient Studies when Athena flew straight threw her open window, dropping a letter on Lily’s lap as she went. Immediately, the witch recognised the handwriting to be Mary’s and tore open the parchment.

> _5 th August 1977_
> 
> _Dear Lils,_
> 
> _How are you? I hope your leg is feeling a bit better and it doesn’t hurt you too much. I wish we were allowed in your house; I would love to cheer you up._
> 
> _I’ve started doing my summer work and I can’t for the life of me understand Charms. What is the use of a Protean Charm? It seems completely pointless to me, I mean, why would you want loads of objects linked? Uh, I’m going to fail my N.E.W.T., I can see it now. I was doing to well in keeping steady A grades in Charms too! Help me, oh, Charms Goddess!_
> 
> _Anyway, I got a letter from one Mr James Potter earlier saying we’re invited to his family’s holiday home for a day or something. If you haven’t had a letter from him, I’m sure it’s on the way. It’ll explain everything. Apparently,_ The Snidgets _are playing at an underground pub nearby and they thought it’d be fun if we all went. I hope you can come and you’re leg improves by then._
> 
> _Get well, girl,_
> 
> _Mary xx_

Lily sighed deeply, pondering the letter. Despite spending a week in his home, the situation between her and Potter had not been made any clearer. One minute they were amiable and the next he did not want her anywhere near him. Why on earth was he suddenly inviting her to his house again? Maybe because he was inviting everyone and it would seem odd if he did not invite her. He was being fair, that was all. If she was well enough to go, Lily would stay out of his way as much as possible. 

* * *

James had sent out letters to his friends about _The Snidgets’_ concert but paused before sending one to Lily. It was only fair that he invite her as they shared a friendship group and everyone else was going. Besides, he did not want to leave her in that horrible town alone with Snivellus moping about. Merlin, he was going to get that slimeball for what he did to her. 

Having Lily around had become a huge problem. After that first night of having her in his house, James had made a habit of sneaking down to see if she was okay when he could be sure she was fast asleep. He knew he had told himself to get over her – she had rejected him enough times – but he just could not let her go. The years had passed, James had dated other girls, even slept with other girls, but they had meant nothing to him and made him feel terribly guilty.

At the start of summer he had told himself again that he would move on, but then she was there in the Leaky Cauldron and he just could not _not_ help her. Since then, Lily had been everywhere he went. James had even invited her places and he realised that he would never let go. 

Either he would get the girl, or he would not, but he was not going to stop trying.

With that thought in mind, he gave the letter to Carrington, his parents’ owl, and he flew off to deliver it.

Turning away from the window, James went back to look at the motorcycle Sirius had brought home _. This would be their crowning glory_ , he thought proudly.

* * *

James and Sirius spent the next few days splitting their time between working on the motorcycle and moving Sirius’ things into his flat, which was located above Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley. It had been expensive in such a prime spot, but in the wizard’s opinion, it was absolutely perfect.

Even James could see upsides of having that place around. If The Marauders got completely trashed in the Cauldron, they could sleep it off at Sirius’ place instead of apparating home and risking a splinching. 

By the time Thomas Potter arrived home on the eve of the two-week trip to Godric’s Hollow, the motorcycle had been enchanted, charmed, and transfigured in just about every which way.

The seat was ten times more comfortable than possible and far large than it looked, the maximum speed had been upped by at least a hundred miles per hour and other little tweaks here and there. However, the thing the two wizards were most proud of was that the motorcycle could fly.

While incredibly proud of their creation, both James and Sirius were perfectly aware of the repercussions should anyone find out about the bike, but they still needed to take it to Godric’s Hollow. Plus, they needed to take it on a test drive.

* * *

In the dead of night, Padfoot and Prongs snuck out of their bedrooms, smirks on their faces, and headed down to the den where the motorcycle was waiting outside, covered with a disillusionment charm.

Casting a quick soundproofing charm so Mr and Mrs Potter would not wake up, Sirius kick-started the large engine as James jumped on behind him, both stupidly excited. The roar of life made them both grin as they started to rumble along the field.

Perhaps trying to take off immediately was both foolish and arrogant for the young wizards. Presuming that their strong flying enchantment would work, although they had spent the best part of a week on it, was quite a big ask especially for barely legal wizards. However, James Potter and Sirius Black were not ordinary students at Hogwarts. These were two wizards who had illegally become animagi at the age of fifteen, these were a pair of the most talented seventeen year old wizards that had even been, even if they mainly used their talents for mischief.

After a short run up in order to build speed and power, Sirius lifted the controls and the motorcycle took off from the ground, soaring over the quidditch hoops and off into the night.

* * *

The journey from Worcestershire to Somerset would have taken far longer had the bike not had enhanced speeds or been able to fly. Sirius had no idea how muggles had the patience to travel so slowly along those long roads in completely odd directions from their destination. They must have so much unnecessary time on their hands to waste it in such a way.

Occasionally, the pair would sneak down on a clear patch of road just to trundle along as muggles did. James found it amusing while Sirius just got bored and took off again.

Eventually, the wizards reached Godric’s Hollow and parked up the motorcycle in the small garden, casting another disillusionment charm over it. The boys sighed, proud of their escapade but now quite tired, especially as it was nearing dawn in just another few hours.

However, instead of going home like they _should_ have, James and Sirius decided it would be a good idea to have a drink in a muggle pub. Wanting to get away from the Hollow, where people might have recognised them, James decided it would be best if they went to the next town over.

That was where it happened.

The pair waltzed into the quiet place, surprised to see so few people. Wizarding establishments were usually relatively busy all day and night but it seemed muggles were not quite so lively at half past three in the morning. There were a few drunkards at the bar and some shadowy figures in the corner but other than them and the barmaid, the place was empty.

The woman sighed as James and Sirius headed for the bar; she had been hoping to close up soon. If few enough people were there, the landlord allowed her to chuck them out and go on her way, but now these two youngens had arrived, she had to stay.

“All righ’ m’lovers,” the barmaid said as James and Sirius approached the bar, “wha’ can I ge’ yeh?” The boys would have struggled far more with the woman’s rich Somerset twang had they not been used to Hagrid’s accent. They spent a minute looking at all the bottles behind the bar, most of which meant nothing to them – what in the name of Merlin’s baggy y-fronts was _Pimm’s_?

When James and Sirius did not answer, the woman spoke up again, “Well, are y’avin’ a drink or no, ‘cause I’d like to go ‘ome if yeh not.”

“Uh, yeah, sorry. We’ll just have two of those,” James said, pointing a sign that said something about ale and was called Northgate, hoping that made them seem slightly more normal.

As the woman poured the beers, James turned to Sirius frantically having realised they were missing something vital for this to go well, “Pads, I have no muggle money.”

“Shit,” Sirius cursed under his breath. “Maybe we could put it on a tab and then run?”

 “That’s our only chance,” the other wizard whispered back. James felt exceptionally guilty about what they had to do but he really could not see another way around it. The barmaid then handed over their pints and they asked for it to be put on a tab and went to sit in the corner, looking around the pub. 

After a few minutes of sitting and nursing their pints, enjoying trying something different, James began to feel a prickling on the back of his neck. It was never a good sign when that started to happen and so he ran his hand nervously through his hair. Looking around, the drunkards at the bar were transfixed with the barmaid and she certainly was not looking their way. It seemed the boys had caught the attention of the shadowy figures sat on the opposite side of the low-ceilinged room. 

“I think the blokes over there in the shadows are watching us,” James said calmly to Sirius, trying not to show that he was aware they were being watched. From what he could see, the men were wearing all black with hoods on their heads covering their faces from the dim light of the pub. He took another sip of his beer, desperately hoping they had not absent-mindedly walked into trouble.

That was when he saw it.

As he sipped his drink, a flash of movement from the figures caused James to look and just at the last second he spotted a wand seconds before it flashed. It gave him enough time to push over the table and shove Padfoot to the floor before they were hit with some fluorescent yellow spell that neither wizard recognised. The barmaid screamed and ducked below the bar, and the other muggles followed her lead, running for cover.

Now, as James peeked around the side of the table he could see clearly underneath the hood of both figures, showing a silvery mask with snake-like slits so they could see: Death Eaters. One was advancing on the table in which James and Sirius were hiding while the other headed for the muggles. So this is how people were disappearing.

“Ready, Padfoot?” James asked, sitting on his haunches with his wand at the ready.

“As I’ll ever be,” Sirius replied in a similar stance. The pair then jumped up suddenly, non-verbally stupefying the first Death Eater who had almost approached him. The power of the doubled spell sent the wizard flying back to the corner he had come from and causing his friend to turn from the muggles and onto them. 

“Run! Get out of here!” James shouted to the muggles as he blasted the door open and Sirius began duelling the second Death Eater. James turned to help once the people were safe, just dodging what looked to be a killing curse in the nick of time. Together, the boys managed to immobilise the wizard long enough for them both to run out and disapparate back to Potter Manor.

 Both heaving and out of breath, James and Sirius arrived back at home just as the sun was breaking over the horizon.

“That was close,” muttered Sirius.

“Tell me about it,” James retorted with a chuckle. Soon Sirius joined in and the pair of them were laughing away their near death experience and close encounter. The underlying message remained and no amount of laughter could shake that off; the world was no longer safe. Not for anyone.

* * *

After a few hours of sleep, Sirius, James and his parents flooed to the little cottage in Godric’s Hollow. Remus met them there and the three wizards headed out into the village and settled skimming stones into the duck pond. There, Sirius and James retold the tale of the night before. 

“I knew things had to be worse than they seemed,” Remus muttered, before launching into one of his speeches, “I could have sworn this summer was supposed to be far more disastrous than it was turning out to be and now we find out that, actually, it was and no one even knew. We have a basic human right to know what turmoil is unfolding in our world and I don’t think it right that Minister Fawley is leaning on the Prophet because she’s too scared to do anything about it.”

While James and Sirius agreed with him, they had listened to enough of their friend’s rants about Fawley and how inept she was a running the wizarding world. But it was true; something had to be done about it. The ministry was becoming corrupt and who could trust a power too weak to stand up to the very people who were destroying the world we live in. 

“Can we maybe put it behind us, at least for the next two weeks and just be alert more than usual?” This was the only two weeks of the year when James and his family got to step out of the spotlight of wizarding society and just be normal. He wanted to enjoy it, not spend it thinking about how the world was crumbling around them. 

The boys nodded in agreement and the three of them went back to skimming.

* * *

Just two days after arriving at the Hollow, Marlene, Mary and Lily turned up. Peter had been carted off to France with his parents and so was missing out on seeing _The Snidgets_.

Minutes before the six Gryffindors were about to depart for the concert, Sirius took James aside before the pair returned, both grinning like fools.

“We have something to show you,” the wizards said at the same time and Remus sighed deeply, rolling his eyes, having guessed exactly what was going on. Then Mary and Marlene followed eagerly while Lily apprehensively walked behind them.

“Do you know what they’re planning, Lupin?” Remus merely nodded in acknowledgement, “Do I want to know what they’re planning?”

This time Remus laughed, “Definitely not.”

By the time everyone was in the garden, bar James’ parents who had gone out for a romantic meal, the motorcycle was on full display, disillusionment charm lifted.

Lily, as Remus had moments before, sighed deeply, “I really do _not_ want to know what possible use you could have for a muggle motorcycle, do I?”

“Probably not,” replied James, a smirk spreading across his face like Dragon Pox spread across the body; quickly and with high irritation, “but you may also want to apparate to the concert, because we’re going on this.” 

“We can all fit on it?” Marley asked, Sirius nodded in reply, clearly unable to wipe the smirk off his face as he climbed on the bike. The witch climbed on behind him and motioned for Mary to do the same. The seat had been expanded to hold either a half-giant or at least five people!

“I’ll apparate with Lily,” Remus said to the guys, knowing as well as everybody else that the girl could not possibly condone the misuse of muggle artefacts so openly.

With a swift nod from James, Sirius kick-started the thing and hoped there was enough room for a run-up in the small garden. They picked up speed and, before Lily could blink, were off into the sky. 

“IT _FLIES_?!” the witch screamed at Remus, “AND YOU _LET_ THEM FLY IT?”

“Come on now, Lily, you know I can’t even control those two.” With that, Remus took her hand and apparated to the underground wizarding bar where the band were playing and waited for the others to arrive.

* * *

Remus and Lily had been catching up over a drink while waiting. They had talked about the holidays, their schoolwork, who they thought the new fifth year prefects would be and, by the time Mary stumbled into the bar leaning on Marlene for support, they had exhausted every topic.

The four who had taken the bike headed for the table Remus and Lily had snagged near the stage and sat down. Lily was the first to speak, “What did you do to Mare?” 

Sirius shrugged, James bit his lip and shrugged too, while Marley sighed and rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t… their fault,” Mary spoke up. “I just didn’t realise quite how high we would go. Gave me a shock and I nearly slipped, but that’s all.”

“I’ll put in some kind of security or something,” Sirius said when Lily glared at him. Everyone knew he never would, but still. No one was hurt, just a little shocked, so what was the problem?

* * *

 _The Snidgets_ were brilliant. Lily could not believe just how much she could enjoy herself at a concert. The rush when the band came on, the feeling of joy that filled her chest when her favourite song was played, the moment when the lead singer touched her hand and smiled at her, the fun she had dancing with the girls and singing along less than tunefully. It was incredible.

After the show, everyone bought t-shirts emblazoned with a large gold Snidget in the centre. James and Sirius put theirs on straight away, ripping off their tops in the middle of the bar. Admittedly, it was not an unpleasant sight, but completely unnecessary.

As the group headed for the door, James felt the strange prickling sensation again and stopped dead, tapping Sirius as he did. “They’re here,” he said before turning around and scanning the bar.

“Guys, you apparate back, we’ll be right behind with the bike,” Sirius called after the others. Remus stopped and looked curiously at his friends, Padfoot shook his head, “Just look after the girls, okay?”

“There,” James said, nodding toward two hooded figures sat not far from where the group had been.

Sirius looked in the direction and sighed, “Damn.” But then a smirk started to play across his lips as he looked at James, “Let’s see just how fast my baby can go, shall we?” 

James grinned and the pair left the bar, jumping on the bike and setting off. Sirius guided the bike over buildings and through tunnels trying to outrun the figures that had now acquired brooms, while James looked behind noting where the pursuers were.

After about half an hour, James had lost sight of the Death Eaters and told Sirius to go onto the empty motorway that was just below them and start heading back towards Godric’s Hollow. It was along that very motorway that Avon and Somerset’s finest recorded a whopping two hundred and ten miles per hour – a speed which should not have been possible on an ordinary motorcycle.

And the chase began.

They could not fly and they certainly could not be stopped by the muggle police, James groaned thinking they were doomed. Just when things could not get worse, the wizards spotted the Death Eaters again a bit further behind.

“Great, now we have to lose two sets of pursuers,” James muttered, frustrated at the situation they had managed to get themselves into.

Sirius was just turning off the motorway and into some town when he grinned wickedly, “Or maybe we could kill two Plimpies with one spell.”

* * *

James and Sirius zoomed away into the night sky, their taillight twinkling behind them like a vanishing ruby. Laughter bubbled from their lips as they flew back to the cottage in Godric’s Hollow, having successfully ridded themselves of both nuisances.

Thankful his parents trusted them enough to look after themselves and did not stay up, James and Sirius tiptoed back into the house and up to the bedroom where the boys were crashing for the night while the girls took the spare one. 

Everyone was in the room waiting. Mary, Marlene and Lily were holding hands, confused and concerned, while Remus paced and bit his lip nervously. When the wizards burst through the door, still amused, the others sighed with relief. However, in Lily’s case, the relief turned to annoyance very quickly.

“You’re _laughing_?” She began incredulously, clearly building herself up to go on a full-scale rant. Quickly, Remus cast a sound proofing charm and Lily let rip, “I cannot _believe_ you two. Do you know how _long_ we’ve been waiting here? Hours. We have been waiting _hours_ , completely unaware what was happening to you. I mean, Remus explained the other night; having guessed it was something to do with that so we knew vaguely what was happening. You could have been _killed_! We would never have known where you were. WHAT – WOULD – WE – HAVE – SAID – TO – YOUR – MOTHER? I just cannot _believe_ you two. We’ve been here worrying and then you come back in _bloody_ _fucking_ LAUGHING.” 

The witch growled, clearly fuming, wanting to curse the boys into next week. The speech had stunned them to silence, half-ashamed they had not thought about the others and half-still amused by the faces of the two muggle law enforcement men (what were they called?) as they had flown away. 

“Lil, come on,” Sirius started, trying to calm the girl down.

“No, don’t you dare talk to me right now, Black, I am not in the mood.” Lily stormed out and went into the bedroom opposite where she had to spend the night.

James turned to go after her, pausing only briefly when Marley called after him, “You may not want to do that,” but he ignored her and followed anyway.

* * *

Entering the room, James saw Lily sat on one of the three beds, leaning her chin on the palm of her hand and biting her forefinger. “Evans?”

That was all he had to say for the floodgate to be open and every feeling of confusion about whatever was going on between them came crashing out of her lips. 

“I just don’t understand you, Potter. One minute we’re at each other’s throats and then all of a sudden you’re _helping_ me get home and inviting me to your house, seeming like you _sincerely_ mean it! What are you _playing_ at? Then you _throw_ me out again as if nothing had changed. Now today! You invite me to a concert and then worry your own friends half to death? I just don’t understand you at all. You’re reckless and foolish and arrogant and I just cannot – keep – up – with – these – damn – mood – swings.”

Lily looked away and shook her head. Was it worth trying to keep up with his mood swings? 

“Evans… Lily,” James corrected himself. _We have the same friends; we’re in the same house, year, and classes. I just figured it was time to put the past behind us,_ he wanted to say, but he did not. “I… I don’t know. I don’t have an explanation.” Then he left.

He could have tried to make amends but what good would that have done at that point. If he was going to get the girl, he could not keep pissing her off like this. He needed to be consistent. He needed to be a good example. But more than anything, he needed to get her to come to him. 

* * *

Lily, Marlene and Mary left the morning after, one keener to get away than the others, and life trundled on as usual. However, just a few days later something arrived that was, for James, both a blessing and a curse.

That particular morning, he was early out of bed, eating toast at the kitchen counter while Remus and Sirius were still fast asleep and his parents in the dining room. Engrossed in the amount of marmalade he as putting on his toast, James did not notice a large pompous owl fly up to the window and begin to peck on the glass to be let in.

Allowing the bird entrance, it swooped in and dropped three letters on the counter before flying straight back out and away. The Hogwarts letters had arrived.

James flicked through the three, and picked out his own. It seemed heavier than usual which made the wizard curious. He had been Gryffindor’s Quidditch Captain for the last two years; maybe they had thought it was time he had a new badge or perhaps they even thought he had lost it!

Opening the envelope, he pulled out his letter and supplies list. Then it fell. The heavy item inside the envelope slipped out and onto the floor and gleaming from the position where it landed was a shiny, purple, shield-shaped badge with a very obvious ‘HB’ emblazoned in golden letters.

Head Boy.

James was Head Boy.

He, James Thomas Potter, was Head Boy.

 _How_? He was not even a prefect. Well, of course anyone could become Head Boy, not just Prefects, but the likelihood of that happening was so slim it was almost non-existent. And yet he, James Potter, had done it! 

Was Dumbledore _completely_ off his rocker? James was part of the least discreet troublemaking gang in school – he was a Marauder, for Merlin’s sake! Why on earth would he choose James over, well, Moony or Bones?! Or even that Hufflepuff Prefect… his name was something like Knotting or Bopping or, oh whatever. Oh, yes, Blotting, that was it.

There were plenty of acceptable candidates (obviously Snape was not included in the equation), so why on earth would Dumbledore choose _him_? 

After the shock began to ebb away, the realisation began to kick in. He was going to have to follow rules. He had to be a good example. A good example! It was the perfect way to show Lily he could be a good example. He could follow rules. It would give her a chance to see him as a better person than he was two years ago.

Maybe it was a good thing. The only challenge now was telling Padfoot and Moony without them freaking.

Oh, Merlin.

* * *

Lily was frightfully excited when a broad, regal owl she had never seen before fluttered up to her window. At this time in the summer, it meant only one thing – her Hogwarts letter.

She loved going to Diagon Alley to buy all her new books, but this year her Hogwarts letter meant so much more. Lily had been vying for the position of Head Girl since her first year when a Ravenclaw by the name of Symposia Rawle had the position. Symposia had been a short witch, even smaller than Lily, which, at five foot six, the redhead thought was a mean feat. However, the Head Girl had been absolutely brilliant. Practically a genius, with extremely powerful magic to boot, the girl had it all. The way she seemed to float around the corridors elegantly like some kind of majestic being, made Lily gawk in awe and wonder. From that year, it had been her aim to be as wonderful a Head Girl as Symposia Rawle.

The only problem was that Lily was not graceful, nor was she a genius or powerful. She worked hard, but that was about all she had going for her. When she had gotten her Prefect badge in fifth year, she realised she was on her way to the Head Girl badge, but she was also perfectly aware of her competition.

So, when Lily opened her Hogwarts Letter, she tried not to raise her hopes. Admittedly, it was heavier than usual, but that meant nothing; for all she knew, Hogwarts admin could have been using thicker parchment or something. It was not until the glimmering ‘HG’ badge fell out of the envelope and into her hand that Lily started celebrating.

Finally, her day had come. She was the Head Girl. She had done it. That year was going to be the best at Hogwarts so far. At that point, she did not even care who was Head Boy, it could be Severus- _bloody_ -Snape for all she cared (okay, over exaggeration), but at the time, Lily was just so happy that she did not have a care in the world.

 

 

 


End file.
